The new commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell, suspended Tennessee Titans corner back Adam "Pac Man" Jones for the entire 2007 - 08 season because of his failure to comply with league policy.
It seems as if though Jones failed to report his several arrests to his team and the league, and thus violated the NFL policy for player conduct.
Goodell took the reigns of a league that had become associated with America's game, and is as profitable as any professional sport in the world. However, it's a league that as of late has been developing a bit of a reputation for being the Notorious Felons League as opposed to the National Football League.
Several players on the Cincinnati Bengals attracted attention for consistently being arrested in off-field encounters with the authorities. Dozens of other players have been in and out of the media for their encounters with the boys in blue, causing Goodell to focus this off season's spring meetings on player accountability.
Despite all that has happened in the past, no player has ever been disciplined anywhere close to as stringently as Jones was with the commissioners recent reprimand. 16 unpaid games, without any contact whatsoever with the Titans or the league. Banishment, vanquished, exiled given the accursed Scarlett Letter!
With all of that being said, Goodell made a clear and resounding example out of Jones, but in the process unfairly disciplined someone that needs assistance and support as opposed to "TOUGH LOVE"!
Goodell not only unfairly disciplined Jones, but sent the wrong message to the league and more importantly its devout following of fans and young supporters. He showed the world that instead of setting up targeted and concise methods of helping troubled contributors to his league, he'd simply utilize his position and power to force them to report to the corner and put on the dunce cap. OSTRACISING, and a classic example of Machiavellian leadership.
Well Goodell, you've successfully made everyone including the outspoken and recent Las Vegas brawler Joey Porter fear you, and all it took was the sacrifice of a troubled but a remarkably talented and conflicted young man. I hope that it's worth it, and you're willing to accept everything that comes with ruling out of fear as opposed to compassion and fairness?
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3 comments:
This suspension bothers me as well. Jones is only 23 years old and he obviously has problems. What I don't get is why is the solution a punishment? The NFL is obligated to do what's best for it's players, I don't think a year away from the game is going to suddenly solve all of his personal problems. Get the guy help, not a year off.
The following appeared in the ESPN story about players admitting to marijuana use:
"[NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell] is going to be all over any team that drafts players with borderline character," an unidentified team official said, according to Pro Football Weekly. "You are not going to see a draft like, for instance, Cincinnati's [in 2006], where they took four criminals in one draft, because the owners are going to start getting fined."
Owner are going to start getting fined??! Sometimes people deserve a second chance, and I think the NFL has forgotten this.
Goodell is in the wrong profession, he undoubtedly should have become the head of Cook County's renowned Correctional Institution.
Perhaps someone should ask Goodell if he ever smoked a little chronic in his days of college? Maybe someone should take a look into his personal government files, and see if he's ever posed facing the right, left and center?
I'd love to see how many coaches, members of management and NFL owners have had encounters with the police in recent years, accompanied by a lie-detector test of whether or not they've ever smoked marijuana. Let's see the percentage concerning that.
It's ridiculous to expect and only police and scrutinize the labor force of this tremendously successful league as opposed to the entire organization. Are coaches, management, ownership and administration not responsible for their off-field actions just as much if not more than the players?
I bet the question of character wouldn't be posed once the results of the non-players that have smoked a little hash come back from the authorities.
The character of an individual shouldn't be measured by the jaded standards of others. If someone wants to smoke marijuana, that's her or his business. I don't condone it, however I'm not the supreme being, nor have I done everything perfect by the American standards.
All of these players should band together and start their own league, one which fosters creativity and individuality as an example to America's youth of what they should really aspire to become, and that is someone that's not concerned with the ridiculous expectations of others simply to acquire monetary gain.
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