There Is No Better Handicapper Than A Commissioner

Roger Goodell is a good guy. Just ask anyone in the NFL organization that he hasn't suspended, but do it quick while there still remains a few untouched careers. Having been voted to the position of NFL commissioner in September of 2006, it took only eight months before the personal-conduct policy he had personally written up was approved, granting him sweeping powers to discipline any player or staff member within the organization.

To say that Goodell takes no notice of the consequences a suspension has on a team would just be wrong. Surely it is a factor in how he has chosen to lower the boom on violators. Joey Porter a group of thugs to help him pummel Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Levi Jones after they had exchanged trash talk over a casino game in Vegas. Watch the security tape of the 4 on 1 beating and tell me if this guy deserves to play in the league.

Instead of a suspension Joey Porter, who had just weeks before the fight signed a 32 million dollar contract with the struggling Miami Dolphins, was fined 141,176 dollars (or three weekly paychecks) by the league and allowed to play every game. This is a guy who was fined every single game he played in Pittsburgh because he refused to wear the right color gloves. This is a guy who gladly paid a 10,000 dollar fine for using a homosexual slur while talking to reporters about Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow. Later Porter told reporters, "I really didn't mean to offend nobody but Kellen Winslow. Pretty much, that's it about that."

I'm not sure how Goodell thinks this is any kind of punishment for Porter. He still gets to play, he still practices with his team, he still gets to be an animal every week on Sunday. Punish this guy by taking him off the field. Make this monster sit at home on Sundays and play online bingo with the ladies. That might actually change his behavior.

Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers hit fellow teammate Ken Lucas across the jaw with a cheap shot while Lucas was resting on one knee on the sidelines. This is the equivalent of your coworker standing up from behind his desk and walking over to the water cooler to punch the mail guy in the face. Lucas required surgery and missed three weeks of game time. Team owner Jerry Richardson was quick to suspend Smith for two games without pay and Smith publicly apologized before Goodell ever had to take action. In fact Goodell never even spoke of the fight to the media. Back in 2006 when a comity was put together to appoint Goodell the new commissioner, who was it that headed that comity? Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and former employer of Joey Porter.

Many agree that the multiple suspensions that Goodell has imposed are long overdue, but the picking and choosing has to be addressed. When Michael Vick plasters his name on websites that organize dog fighting, when a massive grave of dog bodies and training equipment is found on his property, when he is in federal prison, of course you have to suspend him. There is no choice to be made. When Adam Jones is arrested 5 times in two years, once after being a part of a fight that got three people shot, there is no choice but suspension. When Albert Haynesworth chooses to stomp on an opponents head with his cleats while the opponents is stunned without his helmet, creating a gash that requires over 30 stitches, you take him off the field. Multiple offenders like Tank Johnson and Chris Henry have over twenty encounters with the police between them. Some of their priors include assault, football betting, possession of drugs and assault rifles, but they continue to play in the NFL.

The ultimate questionable suspension for Roger Goodell came when it surfaced that Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach, Wade Wilson was using human growth hormone. Now he is a coach, and never touches the field on game day, never physically alters the outcome of a game, but Goodell decided he should be suspended for five games regardless. It should also be noted that the reason Wilson was taking the hormones was to improve the quality of his life while living with diabetes.

Too much of a good thing, is a bad thing. While there is no doubt that the conduct of NFL players and staff as a whole needs improving, there is far too much unchecked authority with the commissioner's new policy. A system is truly needed to review each case that is brought to light and not allow certain indiscretions to be swept under the rug. When making your picks this week, make sure that Goodell is smiling on your players. It is his league after all.