By ERIC MOLLO
“They were great players and they had a lot of potential. We’re just going to find more guys that are more dedicated to the cause.”
Texans’ linebacker Brooks Reed had this to say about three of his teammates who were cut following Houston’s Week 7 loss to the Chiefs for violating team rules. The three players, Cierre Wood, Sam Montgomery and Willie Jefferson were thrown off the team after getting caught smoking marijuana outside the team hotel the night before the game. Not the most prudent course of action. The punishment does seem harsh, but it’s hard to argue for a second chance when they blatantly violated rules that explicitly threatened removal from the team.
What we can call into question, however, is how fairly teams and the NFL are punishing players. For example, 49ers star linebacker Aldon Smith was arrested on a DUI charge and marijuana possession on the third Friday of September and played in that Sunday’s game. He’s now in rehab after taking a voluntary leave of absence from the team and is not expected to be suspended upon his return. It’s hard for me to say Smith is more “dedicated” than these three players standing in the unemployment line, but he will return to his job thanks to a privilege that these other players don’t have. Last week’s incident shows us the hypocrisy of discipline in professional football. It’s no secret that the NFL is only moderately concerned with the well-being of their players, but what is annoying and alarming is that the league tries to create an image as a strict, no-nonsense league when they are merely a league of pseudo-discipline that lacks a fair system of punishment.
Fining players for on-field conduct is one of the primary ways the NFL creates their pseudo-disciplinary image. The league handed down eighteen fines of at least $7,800 in Week 7 alone for offenses such as face masks, late hits and roughing the passer. These fines have become more and more frequent since Roger Goodell became commissioner in 2006 as an attempt to ensure player safety. But these fines don’t always protect players. Roughing the passer penalties are called even when quarterbacks don’t get hurt and the league fines players for hits that most defensive players consider textbook tackles. I think the league does care about player safety, but I also believe these fines are the NFL’s attempt to set a disciplinary tone when they turn a blind eye to stars who commit greater crimes off the field.
Often times, the league merely “looks into” off-field issues, but withdraws from punishing their stars. Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is a prime example. Arrested on suspicion of DUI in July 2012, Lynch has yet to face suspension because his trial was pushed back and the NFL will not discipline him until his trial is completed. This delay is quite convenient. He won’t be suspended until at least 2014, and the Seahawks drafted Christine Michael in 2013, the heir apparent to Lynch, and are prepared in case their star tailback has to sit out some games in 2014. However, the NFL had no problem suspending lower profile players like Rams’ running back Isaiah Pead and Colts’ receiver LaVon Brazill for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. These players were subjects of the league’s subjective disciplining regulations.
To counter my argument, the question is raised: aren’t the players responsible for their off-field conduct? Absolutely. One hundred percent responsible. It is not the NFL’s fault that three Texans were smoking pot outside of a hotel or that Aldon Smith can’t stay out of trouble. The NFL gives players the privilege of playing a sport professionally: the players are responsible for their actions and how they represent the league. That said, the NFL is responsible for punishing players when they represent the league poorly. If the league wants to be disciplinarian, that is its prerogative. What is not okay is unequal punishment and increased discipline on the field to make it seem like the league is taking steps towards strictness and good conduct. Players’ repeated misbehavior off the field, however, indicates the league isn’t so “dedicated” to disciplining the right way.