Parents know the difficulties of disciplining their children when they misbehave. But NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell, an actual father himself (and pseudo-dad to NFL players), has botched a number of disciplinary issues in the past and continues to do so. No parent is perfect, but c’mon man. The three situations that have involved domestic violence against women remain the worst of the worst:
- The Mishandling of Ray Rice . I thought Goodell would have used that situation to set a precedent for players who commit acts of domestic violence against women. Unfortunately, he had all the evidence in front of him and still couldn’t hand down the proper punishment. Ray Rice initially receives a two-game suspension. Two games?? Only AFTER the video of him punching his fiancée was released did the league hand down the indefinite suspension. The Ravens also threw him to the wolves.
- The Greg Hardy Incident. Arrested for assaulting and threatening his then-girlfriend, Goodell didn’t want to fumble this one too. Hardy received a 10-game suspension. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long because Hardy had the NERVE to appeal. Somehow, using NFL math, the suspension got chopped down to four games. As if it couldn’t have gotten worse, the public heard the horrifying photos and the chilling 911. Meanwhile, this guy was out on the field getting a paycheck every week with the full support of Jerry Jones.
- The Mistreatment of Zeke Elliot. He was suspended six games for domestic assault allegations. The criminal investigation found no wrong-doing AND the investigation done by the league found nothing. The investigator suggested no suspension. But Goodell, with two previously mishandled domestic violence issues, decided to overcompensate. He didn’t care who had to suffer. A well- documented battle between Elliot and Goodell came to an end with Elliot now serving out that suspension.
I don’t understand any of this and quite frankly, I don’t think Goodell does either. And he’s the one calling the shots!
Mishandled Misdemeanors
- DeflateGate. On a much lighter note, Goodell tried to redeem himself once more and suspended Tom Brady over some deflated footballs. Didn’t matter that all the evidence was circumstantial at best. Goodell figured if he got rid of the most hated quarterback in the NFL for a few games, people would like him again. It was short-lived: the Patriots still ended up being Super Bowl champions.
- WWE: NFL Edition. Fights on the field have been the story this month. Green and Ramsey top the list of most memorable, followed by the recent Crabtree and Talib bout. Only A.J. Green caught the fine ($42,000) for his fight with Jalen Ramsey and neither received suspensions. Then, Crabtree and Talib got into it after another ruined gold chain rough-up. It cost both players a two-game suspension. Raiders coach Jack Del Rio questioned the decision, referring to the Green/Ramsey situation in a tweet. I guess Goodell saw that. The suspensions were halved to one game.
Goodell sends a simple message: allegations get you in MORE trouble than real evidence. The fact that a player can get the same suspension for deflated footballs and physically assaulting women is mind-blowing.
No extension for you Goodell.