If Roethlisberger skates, Goodell will face a race debate
Ben Roethlisberger read a statement Monday, giving a generic apology for his behavior.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has shown little tolerance for players who don’t walk the line like good little clones. So I’m going to assume he will treat the NFL’s latest “suspected” felon the same way as he has others. Otherwise, he’s setting himself up for a mini race riot.
Ben Roethlisberger is innocent of sexual assault. Or, I should say, the district attorney in Milledgeville announced he won’t bring charges because he doesn’t believe he can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. (Often in cases like this, the alleged victim also was drinking so it makes things difficult to prove. And sometimes, the alleged victim also gets an envelope full of cash to suddenly not cooperate with police. I’m not saying that’s what happened. I’m just saying that happens.)
Back to Goodell. He has suspended players in the past who were arrested but not convicted of crimes. Most notable on the list: Adam “Pacman” Jones and
Unfortunately, this is one of the faces of the NFL.
Chris Henry. You’ll recall that he also told Michael Vick not to report to Falcons training camp, even while Vick was denying guilt and long before he pled to dog-fighting charges.
Jones, Henry and Vick all are African American. Roethlisberger is white.
I understand the arguments on both sides of the suspension debate.
♦ For suspension: The NFL is like any other employer. The “conduct detrimental to the league” excuse works for any company that wishes to fire or suspend an employee who is prone to excessive knuckleheadedness.
♦ Against suspension: If a man isn’t convicted of a crime, the NFL has no right to punish him.
The problem here is that Goodell already has set precedent. He can’t go back now. There is enough circumstantial evidence of Roethlisberger excessively imbibing. There are now at least two cases where a woman has brought sex assault allegations against him (he faces a civil suit stemming from an alleged incident in Lake Tahoe, Nev., in 2008).
As a Super Bowl winning quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Roethlisberger is making both the NFL and one of its centerpiece franchises look bad. For Goodell, this should be am easy call.
When Goodell suspended Jones and Henry in 2007, he sent letters to the two players that read in part: “Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction.”
Is there any difference in this case?
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291 comments Add your comment
Carrot Top
April 13th, 2010
9:23 pm
JB, go back to being Lester.
junebaby
April 13th, 2010
9:28 pm
Hmmm, let me see… dogkiller or possible serial rapist. Hmmm, do i care for my dogs more than i care for my little white daughter? What a dilemna. Hmmm, i hate Pacman for making it rain, i hate M.Vick for killing those furry thing that i like kissing on the mouth(after they lick their splits). But i love me some Ruthlessraper, and he looks different than those other guys. The commisioner has already set a standard, so what happens if he backs down now. That makes it kind of iffy for Ruthlessraper! OH I KNOW, i’ll just claim blacks are playing the race card, and after that everything will be a-ok, and i can go back to lamblacking the thugs, and all my friends will have my back. Hmmm, how clever of me.
34
April 13th, 2010
9:32 pm
That “chick” in the second picture is a man.
JimC
April 13th, 2010
9:33 pm
crabapplejoe makes some good points, but to be consistent, the NFL has to at least “put the fear of God” into this fellow by enforcing its personal conduct policy. There are responsibilities that come with his supersize paycheck. He needs to learn that.
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
April 13th, 2010
9:36 pm
Four to six games sounds about right. He puts himself in position for these things to happen, guilty or not.
If he were convicted of a felony, he should be banned for life, just like other felons who are STILL playing. Goodell has been soft on criminals.
To speak of “integrity of the game,” while allowing ANY convicted felon to EVER play, is laughable beyond belief.
JimC
April 13th, 2010
9:36 pm
I don’t waste my time reading Terrence Moore any more. I’ll take Jeff’s column any time.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:37 pm
Damn Shultz, see what you started! I bet you’re just kicking back, smokin herb, and laughing your tail off! On a serious note- I listen to Sirius NFL radio and the people in Steeler nation are fed up with “hassenfeffers” antics, I say “off with his head” _which ONE? I’ll let YOU decide! LOL
JAmes
April 13th, 2010
9:38 pm
Everyone here seems angry. Chill out.
He doesn’t deserve to be suspended for sexual assault, he deserves to be suspended for hanging out in Milledgeville. What kind of doofus goes to bars in Milledgeville (no offense, GCSU alums)? Especially when he can just have women brought to him?
And carrot top, are you just antagonizing everyone? I have to say, good work.
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:40 pm
They need to suspend his ass. Rapistberger. What Vick dod was terrible, but raping women is 10x worse.
Vick. NFL Starting QB 2010 by week 6. I hope he gets to crush the falcons again
If Roethlisberger skates, Goodell will face a race debate | Black Politics on the Web
April 13th, 2010
9:41 pm
[...] Click here for more… [...]
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:41 pm
He won’t be suspende thoough. He’s white.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:42 pm
Hey welcome back DickSupporter! I see they let you out on parole!
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:42 pm
The Great Mike Vick Has Returned
crabapplejoe
April 13th, 2010
9:42 pm
Seriously folks, a suspension of Big Ben could set a really troubling precedent for the league. Think about it for a moment. Any opposing team (or fan) could set any player up by sending in an underage girl with a fake ID to any club where NFL players congregate (I know, I know..some of you don’t believe that pro athletes actually go to clubs and chase women!). All she has to do is then allege a sexual assault, which she withdraws several weeks later. Then the fans go crazy and call for his head and Goddell has to suspend him. Your team is now playing against a team without its star player. C’mon people…get real.
junebaby
April 13th, 2010
9:43 pm
Hmmm, i wonder if “m.sadly”, “d.o. ledbelly”, or “sgt shultz” is going to have a serial rapist rotation every two to three weeks. it’s a formula that’s been used before. it makes it easy to write a column when there’s grist for the mill so easily obtainable.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:43 pm
Don’t worry though, I kept your momma real warm and fuzzy! Although, she’s is one stank ho!
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:44 pm
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:42 pm
Hey welcome back DickSupporter! I see they let you out on parole!
————————————
Welcome back florida falcon!!! I see you just gout out of rehab for Meth!!
crabapplejoe
April 13th, 2010
9:44 pm
@JAmes: Big Ben has a place on Lake Oconee….its the nearest town with a watering hole.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:45 pm
Weren’t you on the protected unit? While in the pen? A “special” inmate!
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:45 pm
Rapistberger raping women = one game suspension
Vick fighting dogs = 2 years in prison.
What a country
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:46 pm
@VS-What in hell does “gout out” mean? English please, you baboon!
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:48 pm
florida falcon
you ever heard of a typo? I forgot, caucasians don’t make typos. I apologize master
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:48 pm
I hope they throw the book on Rapistberger too, and I hope they take down Brees and the Saints on some trumped up charges! We need all the help we can get next year! LOL
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:50 pm
VS- I’m not a white boy. Just wanting to welcome you back into the fold. I must admit that I missed your moronic posts. They are childish, yet entertaining, you’ve become our “village idiot”.
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:50 pm
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:48 pm
I hope they throw the book on Rapistberger too, and I hope they take down Brees and the Saints on some trumped up charges! We need all the help we can get next year! LOL
——————–
You’re right about that..the falcons SUCK. Damn noodle armed QB has been exposed. You better hope he took some roids over the summer so he can complete a deep out….maybe stretch the field for once
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2010
9:51 pm
I do think Goodell’s enforcement of the conduct policy has been racially unequal. Nick Kazcur was implicated in a federal drug case and had to wear a wire for the Feds to avoid getting charged, and yet he avoided suspension. Michael Vick was suspended a day after his indictment, while Matt Jones — who was arrested at gunpoint for felony possession of cocaine — managed to avoid getting suspended for six months after his arrest. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination — even for me, as a non-black man — to see the racial inequality.
That said, everyone Goodell has suspended has at least been charged. As much evidence as there is in the court of public opinion against Roethlisberger, if he’s not charged with a crime, it’s hard to make a case that he should be suspended based on the precedent Goodell has set.
The irony of it all, to me, is that players were getting into the same amount of trouble under the Tagliabue administration and got only a fraction of the media coverage. The one overriding effect of Goodell’s conduct policy has been to draw far more public attention to the NFL’s crime record than ever before. If the goal of Goodell’s policy was to improve the image of NFL players, it has completely backfired.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
9:51 pm
VS-Apology accepted.
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:52 pm
florida falcon
Moronic? Because I support Vick having a second chance? I’ve dropped so much knowledge on these threads…I’m a legend on here….I own this sh!t
Real American
April 13th, 2010
9:54 pm
Najeh Davenpoop …..excellent points!
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:54 pm
I haven’t been on here in a while…the falcons are nothing to talk about until the word “Vick” is mentioned. People seem to come alive then….say the word “Ryan” and you hear crickets,lol
Mr. Turnip-Green Jeans
April 13th, 2010
9:56 pm
Character is the reason for banning a felon for life. For example, if Michael Vick were willing to commit the felony of dog fighting, would he also be willing to commit the felony of shaving points? He openly admitted that he didn’t go all-out in a handful of games. Could there be an ulterior motive behind dogging-it, in his case? We’ll never know. Fans of his present and future teams wouldn’t have to speculate as to whether he’s throwing games, if he’d received a lifetime ban. His character will always come into question wherever he plays, especially after he starts and loses a few games. He seems to always be in financial ruin; that’ll just add to the speculation.
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:57 pm
J B STONER
April 13th, 2010
9:55 pm
VICK SUPPORTER, ARE YOU THAT STUPID THAT YOU DONT KNOW THE DIFF BETWEEN CONVICTED VERSUS ACCUSED……..YOUR PROBABLY BLACK………..GO BACK TO PRISON
————————
Go back to prison? LOLOLOL!!!!! That was a good one man….seriously…I have tears coming out of my eyes from laughter. That shows your opinion of blacks 100%….you live a sad live you piece of sh…
Ace
April 13th, 2010
9:57 pm
Wow, the writer is insinuating guilt over an accusation that the accuser obviously did not want to follow through with. (See lawyer speak for her reasons) Hmmm, accusations equals guilt in many people’s minds, very scary.
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
9:59 pm
“He openly admitted that he didn’t go all-out in a handful of games.”
When you play for a franchise that CONSISTENTLY sign and draft bad players (except Dunn and Crumpler)…he probably didn’t give a f anymore….Jim Mora Jr as an NFL COACH!?!? LMAO. Look where he is now. One and done
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
10:03 pm
You better run….
crabapplejoe
April 13th, 2010
10:03 pm
@Najeh Davenpoop: I can certainly understand you seeing bias in the system when you have your facts wrong. “In August 2007, hours after Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges in the Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation, the NFL suspended him indefinitely without pay.”
Note that Vick was suspended after entering a guilty plea to a federal felony….not after being indicted as you allege.
Matt Jones was suspended much earlier but he appealed the league’s decision. As soon as the appeal was dismissed he was suspended for the remainder of the year. Matt Jones was suspended for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. At the time of the suspenison decision he was in a diversion program which would have resulted in no criminal conviction. Unfortunately, he later admitted to drinking a beer on a golf course with some buddies and was considered by the court to have violated the terms of the diversion program.
Not quite so much “bias” in the system as you allege.
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2010
10:04 pm
Odell Thurman, a black middle linebacker, was suspended for 12 games for a DUI in 2007 — his first brush with the conduct policy. In the incident in question, he pleaded no contest and avoided jail time.
David Kircus, a white wide receiver, was arrested for felony assault, pleaded down, and is serving two years probation. He was not suspended and did not meet with Roger Goodell about the incident.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
10:04 pm
@VS- (it should be “BS”) You ARE a legend, like Bozo the clown, or Ronald McDonalds. You have made it-AS A CLOWN! Seriously, you defend Vick through thick and thin. Never using logic. The man could rape your family and you would still blame the Falcons and Blank. While defending Vick. Then you spout BS at MR2, That scumbag #7 never gave a damn while in Atlanta and pissed away his talents. Can you agree with that? I’ll be surprised if you can critique MV7 in any way shape or form.
P. Bull Terrier
April 13th, 2010
10:04 pm
Wow! There are some pretty impressive insults flying back and forth. I want to get in my two cents worth before this blog gets shut down.
Booger Eater!
(Now I feel like part of the group.)
junebaby
April 13th, 2010
10:08 pm
hmmm, in korea or china, which is more prevalent, eating dog meat or raping young girls? which has the severest penalty? should K.bryant have been banned from the nba, for accusations? did Matt jones really snort up Peru? i can’t find it on a map anymore! didn’t a bigtime dogfighting promoter recently recieve probation for staging dogfights in ga, hmmm i wonder if he was a black guy? aren’t there 3 rape allegations against “BIG BEN THE RUTHLESSRAPER” now? isn’t there an old saying “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”? hmmm!
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
10:08 pm
I’m giving you the benefit of a doubt. I am challenging you to have an honest discussion about Vick. It starts by you admitting that your “lord and saviour” Mike Vick stuck it to Falcons fans every where.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
10:10 pm
@junebaby-Peru fell off the map in during the last earthquake, if you look hard, you might see it floating away in the south pacific.-LOL
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
10:13 pm
@florida falcon
You must be a rookie on here…I have criticized Vick. I’ll do it again. He was arrogant….a mixture of his own fault, and a team/owner that coddled him…hell all pro athletes are arrogant. Thats a small part of what makes them great. The man has all world talent and he took it for granted…I believe that he felt that his athletic ability could cover everything..and it did for the most part. This whole prison thing is the best thing that ever happened to him, if you ask me.
He needed to be humbled, and in my opinion, he will be better than he ever was. He has the tools to be great….but his arrogance and bad judgement shot him down.
Is that good enough? Lets not forget to add in the team’s faults also. You saw the games…Roddy dropping passes while he’s all by himself…TJ Duckett….at 250lbs…can’t get one yard…so Vick has to get it…etc etc etc.
Vick had alot of flaws in his character….but he’s humble now…that makes a world of difference. It will make a big difference for Rapistberger too
Najeh Davenpoop
April 13th, 2010
10:13 pm
In any case, I’m not arguing that the conduct policy itself is racist. I’m arguing that Goodell’s decisions on punishments have been unequal for black and white offenders. My only beef with the conduct policy is that I believe it actually worsens the NFL’s image, as opposed to its intent of improving the NFL’s image. Goodell could avoid any racial controversy by simply coming up with a fixed punishment for each possible offense, similar to the mandatory 4-game suspension for using performance enhancing drugs.
Vick Supporter
April 13th, 2010
10:14 pm
RON MEXICO
April 13th, 2010
10:07 pm
VICK SUPPORTER….ILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF YOUR SHOULDERS AND SHHHI…… DOWN YOUR PIE HOLE
—————
You are now officially ignored. I dont’ deal with you tea party mf’ers
JSS
April 13th, 2010
10:19 pm
CrabappleJoe…
Again talking about something you have no idea about…
There are 8 places (including Mellow Mushroom) within 4 miles of Ben’s place on Lake Oconee where a grown man and friends can hang, have some drinks, and kick it… That does not include the 2 “Spas” in the area… If you are a grown man and you venture down to Milledgeville or up to Athens, it is only for two reasons… Venture to take a guess?
Matt "Choke" Ryan
April 13th, 2010
10:21 pm
junebaby
April 13th, 2010
9:28 pm
Hmmm, let me see… dogkiller or possible serial rapist. Hmmm, do i care for my dogs more than i care for my little white daughter? What a dilemna. Hmmm, i hate Pacman for making it rain, i hate M.Vick for killing those furry thing that i like kissing on the mouth(after they lick their splits). But i love me some Ruthlessraper, and he looks different than those other guys. The commisioner has already set a standard, so what happens if he backs down now. That makes it kind of iffy for Ruthlessraper! OH I KNOW, i’ll just claim blacks are playing the race card, and after that everything will be a-ok, and i can go back to lamblacking the thugs, and all my friends will have my back. Hmmm, how clever of me.
—————————————————
You had me laughing so hard, I almost passed out
Now, you know damn well it wasn’t about the dogs, it was about the suspected dog killer. Before Vick came along, they didn’t give a damn about a dog.
Now if it was T.O. who had sex with those two white girls, this blog would be blowing up…………..
HA HA HA
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
10:21 pm
VS-Fair enough, You earned my respect for that well thought out disertation on MV. Yes, I remember many a dropped pass by Roddy and co., I remember Finneran dropping them in bunches early on. I’ll even agree that any man, in fact ALL men (excluding Hitler and Bin Laden, you know those types) deserve a 2nd chance. MV is getting his 2nd chance, i hope he rises as an example to ALL children that you can make a differnece for the better. However, not against MY Atlanta Falcons. As far as Rapistberger, he seems to be travelling along that path that Vick formerly travelled. He will get his, let’s face it people. WE ALL GET OURS in the end. One way or another lady Karma pays us a visit. For better or worse.
Trophy Case
April 13th, 2010
10:21 pm
At the very least, Big Ben, almost 30 and hitting on sorority girls in a small town, is guilty of buying alcohol for underage women. That his smooth, “adult partying” techniques include following an intoxicated and underage woman into the bathroom and having bodyguards stand outside the door while he does what only he and she know what surely speaks well of the macho professional footballer. Were he not in the NFL, he would be considered a creep at the very least. Since he is in the NFL, he’s a wonderful athlete and she’s obviously a money grubbing whore. The jocksniffers are missing the point here. Just because there are no criminal charges does not mean he did not do something wrong. Even if you believe he did nothing criminal, Ben did plenty wrong. The NFL should suspend him for at least two or three games and Pittsburgh, to gain a little self respect, should tack one or two on to that.
florida falcon
April 13th, 2010
10:24 pm
VS-Looky here I made a typo myself> See I am NOT perfect. Just close to perfect!_LOL