A couple of months ago when I started this blog, I commented on how I felt that the NFL should stay out of personal issues... and stick to business.

 

This was an unpopular vote in folks weighing in on the whole Pacman Jones thing. I found it ludicrous that a man who was not actually convicted of anything (yet), had judgment passed over him by a private company.

 

The NFL is a business, not a moral proving ground. The players should not be held to any higher level of standards than anyone else, and as a company, the NFL should be in no way able to judge guilt or innocence, especially before any trial by a real court of law.

 

But now the NFL has gone even further by banning alcohol from any team related event or location... before, this rule was enforced in the locker room only, but now it spans to any place and all coaches, players, staff, and guests are to be held liable.

 

I can't agree with this. It's not that I think everyone should booze it up and go nutty, but we are talking about grown men here. They have the right to make their own choices, and should be held responsible for them... just not by Goodell.

 

I don't believe a convicted felon should be allowed to play. I think he should be fired straight out, and as a business, every team should have that right, but they don't. Complex contracts can sometimes enable players to get paid even if they don't play. This isn't right, and I believe every contract should carry a clause that says "If you commit a crime, you don't work in the NFL." That's fair. It also requires that the person be convicted first.

 

BUT where I draw the line is in pre-emptive action that oversteps any court system. It's a slippery slope that can keep going further and further.

 

For instance:

 

Tank Johnson got arrested and did time for possession of an illegal firearm and violation of parole... so... obviously players shouldn't have guns at all. Sure, it's a violation of the whole "right to bear arms" thing (as it is currently interpreted), perpetrated by a private institution, but whatever. If you're in the NFL, no gun for you.

 

Mike Vick will seemingly be tried (and if the reports of witnesses and books, and perhaps even pictures are correct) for a dog fighting ring... so... players obviously can't be responsible for pets of any sort. It's a one game suspension for owning a parakeet. You do the math from there.

 

The list could go on and on... and now with the NFL offering to have private security "assist" in the Vick investigation? Are you kidding me? The NFL has its own private police force?

 

Do I think they are bad men in the NFL? Yes. And I'm not surprised.

 

But they are individuals who have every right to screw themselves up if they so choose and it should be the law and the courts bringing them to justice, not the NFL. It should be their own personal idea of responsibility leading them down their desired path, not a corporation mandate.

 

If you’re going to start enforcing morality in the NFL, it better be in contracts, and be specific, not based on a small collection of players, a commissioner, and some other random folks pushing out what they see fit. This could lead to much larger problems in no time folks, and I’d hate to see it.

 

There are criminals in the world, and some in the NFL. This sucks. All criminals should be punished for their crimes.

 

But we should get it out of our collective head that they are somehow more responsible because they are in the public light. If you're kid has to look to them as a role model, you screwed up... they're just football players. And some of them are really dumb.

 

In related Broncos news, Mike Shanahan decided David Kircus would not be cut from the football team after Kircus volunteered to undergo a lie detector test and passed it with flying colors. This, of course, is in no way admissible in court, but the two of them worked out a deal so Kircus could participate in training camp. The Broncos kept their distance from Kircus after his arrest for punching someone in the face. The trial could take 6 months to a year to begin, and so in these highly cautious times, something had to be arranged. Kircus went as far as to tell Shanahan that if he didn’t pass the test, Mike could cut him from the team.

 

Now, I don’t pretend to know what happened, but I like the resolve between a man who is not yet convicted, and the primary decision making force in contract status. They did it in a mutually agreed upon manner, and for now, they are good. Still, something creeps in my belly warning that this may not be the end we hear of this, even before the trial. You never know when the morally superior eye of the commissioner’s office will turn toward the Mile High city. Beware.