NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decided to suspend Donte’ Stallworth for the 2009 NFL season as a result of Stallworth violating the NFL’s Substances of Abuse and Personal Conduct Policies. Is this decision surprising based on Goodell’s time as NFL Commissioner? No. Is it fair? That one is a bit trickier, which I will get to in a little bit.
Since Goodell has taken over for Paul Tagliabue as NFL Commissioner in September 2006, Goodell has been strict and consistent with his stance on inappropriate behavior. In 2007, with all the off-the-field scandals, Goodell announced a new NFL Conduct Policy. Including, taking away a first round pick from the Patriots and fining Head Coach Bill Belichick for videotaping the Jets on September 9th, 2007.
| Goodell’s Actions Under NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy* | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date Suspended | Suspension Length | |||||
| Donte’ Stallworth | August 13, 2009 | Entire 2009 season | ||||
| Michael Vick | August 24, 2007-July 27, 2009 | First six games of 2009 season | ||||
| Pacman Jones | October 14, 2008 | Minimum of four games | ||||
| Tank Johnson | June 4, 2007 | First 10 games of 2007 season | ||||
| Pacman Jones | April 10, 2007 | Entire 2007 season | ||||
| Chris Henry | April 10, 2007 | First eight games of 2007 season | ||||
| *Created In April 2007 | ||||||
This was a move that Goodell needed to make on behalf of the NFL and its image. Stallworth’s court sentence was perceived to be incredibly light by the public and relative to the other sentences Goodell handed out for the respective crimes, this one needed to be the strictest. A year suspension is the longest sentence for any player in the NFL under Goodell’s watch, so it seemed fit.
I’m on the fence as far as whether Goodell should be able to punish players beyond what a court determines as an appropriate punishment. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this case, as well as any other action Goodell has taken against NFL players.
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