Apparently Roger Goodell is going have shine up his sheriff’s badge.
Off the field, the NFL is getting out-of-control as players with more money than ever before, exert their ego and entitlement on others.
In 2014, which is less then two months old mind you, there have already been four arrests. Add in the Dolphins’ locker room environment, and the recent Ray Rice altercation with his fiancé and Goodell has his hands full.
But that’s not even the worse of it. Former NFL player Darren Sharper was charged with seven rape and drug counts involving four women.
Goodell’s fairytale has suddenly drifted off the tracks. You have players that are getting rich in an instant, oftentimes more money than they’ve ever dreamed of, and then watching as these same athletes commit blatant crimes.
Goodell can talk about more rookie town hall meetings where Herm Edwards gets in front of an overhead projector and talks about how to fill your life off-the-field positively. He can talk about workshops to help curb substance abuse, which are usually the jumping off point to physical violence.
But the time for talk is over. Goodell now needs to get tough and make those players understand how important playing for that NFL shield is. And the quickest way for Goodell to get it in their heads is in through their bank account.
The things that Richie Incognito did would get entire human resources staffs fired. If Incognito did those kinds of things in the real world, he would be at odds to find a job let alone another professional football one.
Rice still hasn’t been charged but at no point is it OK for a man to hit a woman. Period. The video of him dragging out his fiancé because he knocked her out is not only shocking but it’s also very sad. He never thought for an instant what the ramifications of hitting a woman might lead to. At the very least he needs to be suspended, some are saying he should be kicked out of the NFL. Even if his fiancé elects not to press charges, Rice should still be punished by Goodell.
And finally, Sharper. Packers fans will remember him for being an excellent ball-hawking safety that wasn’t afraid to come to the line of scrimmage and deliver a hit. The five-time Pro Bowler had a great off-the-field presence and proved it as a pretty good NFL Network analyst. But none of those accomplishments make a difference when you allegedly drug and rape women. That is absolutely horrific.
The NFL is one of the preeminent brands in America. The final TV deal that Paul Tagliabue got as commissioner was $2.2 billion per year. The TV contract that Goodell just inked that runs until 2021 is for $4.95 billion a year.
For that kind of cheddar comes enormous responsibilities. Fortune 500 companies aren’t going to want to see continuous police blotter updates for a sport they are dumping in millions of dollars to advertise.
Goodell has made the NFL bigger than I ever thought it could be. A network will be televising Thursday Night Football. I never thought I’d see that.
The NFL is at a crossroads right now. How much more bloated can the police blotter get before people start tuning out?
Goodell needs to come down hard on offenders and send a message that this isn’t your daddy’s NFL. Gone are the days of a few folks that would look the other way because you get a check to put on a helmet and pads. Welcome to the new world of more money and higher expectations, which equates to more scrutiny from the boss.
——————Cory Jennerjohn is from Wisconsin and has been in sports media for over 10 years. To contact Cory e-mail him at jeobs -at- yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter: Cory Jennerjohn
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Until Roger Goodell can figure out how to beat the vagaries of population dynamics in an expanding universe, the NFL is going to have outliers that bump up against the social mores of the times. In reality, it’s always been that way, but in the age of the insatiable appetite for content of an ever expanding media mass , with everyone waiting in the wings to document the moment, there’s no longer anything that escapes scrutiny. There’s not more incidents, just more awareness.
Then once in the open, it becomes the grist for the mill of the tens of million media channels and the consumers they serve that grind the story to a nano-particle degree. Following that, in a more sensitive, litiguous society, punitive actions are deferred while the action is studied, measured, weighed, assessed and analyzed to a paralyzing extent.
No matter how tough RG wants to be, he’s dealing with issues that outstrip his dominion over the fiefdom and his ability to control it.
He’s more worried about London…more games in London, a team in London, a SuperBowl in London….i got an idea, Roger, quit and move to London…egotistical jerk..
Pretty hard to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. There are a lot of immature, ill-adjusted boys playing a game of fame and money. Combine that with some pretty sketchy coaches that would do almost anything to win – combine that with some owners that don’t obey laws to start with – and so on. You can’t micro manage every part of an organization or players life. No doubt Roger will try but the dam will always leak.
We have let insurance companies govern the risk and reward of many aspects of our lives. I can see the modern NFL use legal and insurance to enforce behavior. Big money contracts are going to ensure that the wrong behavior is costly and all parties will use this as the hammer. Until then, we can all keep pouring gas ($) on this fire and keep it burning bright.
Goodell has gotten much tougher on player conduct. However, neither he nor the teams can hold a players hand all offseason, when most player get into trouble, to keep them from running afoul w/ the law.
A lot of these players are inner city kids that never had any money and now their given millions and you expect them to act like complete gentleman.
Let me give you a little hint. There are few Gentleman in the NFL outside of QB’s. Football players are the biggest most aggressive human beings God creates. If you take that aggression out of them they wouldn’t be football players in the 1st place.
What do you think Goodell should do suspend any player that has as much as a DUI for a season?
“Football players are the biggest most aggressive human beings God creates. If you take that aggression out of them they wouldn’t be football players in the 1st place.”
What a bunch of bullsh#t !!!!!
You never heard of an Alpha Male have you? Bigger, stronger more confident, don’t accept limitations of the world. They define their world, not let them world or society define what can/can’t do. They make their world in other words.
The NFL isn’t filled w/ metro sexuals! Its filled w/ alpha males!
It doesn’t put them above the law and they deserve to be penalized but it won’t change a thing. THey are the alpha males, the big dogs in the pack and they are the leaders of men and women, not followers.
Anonymous, whenever players commit crimes they should be penalized by the league. Yes, even for a DUI. Maybe not for a season in that case but at least for a few games. They can utilize controlled aggression on the field but not uncontrolled aggression off the field. If a player commits a crime like Sharper is alleged or Rice and they are guilty they should never be allowed back in the league. Any violent crime is unacceptable and the player should be banned for life. Back in 1963 Paul Hornung and Alex Karras were suspended for the season for betting on their own teams. But nowadays we let anything go because a player might be an inner city kid?! Or because they don’t know how to handle their money!!! No excuse for violent behavior. Get out ,go to jail. You want inner city, I grew up in the Bronx, NY and I find Sharper’s alleged behavior abhorrent. Goodell needs to come down hard and now. If the price of keeping some of these players in the game is abusing women or anyone violently I would rather see the NFL gone. Yes, get rid of their aggression if they are that violent and stupid. Thanks, Since’61
I don’t disagree they should be penalized and fined, just don’t expect it to actually change anything. The NFL is filled w/ alpha males who make things the way they want them and bend others to follow them. They are the aggressive men that lead other men and women. They don’t accept something they don’t like and generally do what they want and are accustomed to getting their way. It doesn’t put them above the law, but they don’t live their lives according to how others think.
They deserve to be fined and penalized, but its not going to take the alpha male out of them.
“The NFL is filled w/ alpha males who make things the way they want them and bend others to follow them. They are the aggressive men that lead other men and women. They don’t accept something they don’t like and generally do what they want and are accustomed to getting their way.”
I think perhaps you play too many video games that depict this as being true.
yes
Roger Goodell is not the US Justice system, nor should he ever be.
Until someone is actually convicted in a proper court of law, “The Omnipotent Roger” can stand aside and wait patiently until guilt or innocence has been established. Roger is not the investigator, the prosecutor, the jury, the judge, or the law.
You might be a bit careful, Corey. Your statements about Rice in particular appear to be a bit irresponsible at best, and libelous at worst.
I have fun with, cause I found exactly what I used to be having a look for. You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye