A brief aside before I begin my article; a definition complements of the fine folks at Dictionary.com.
Hyp∙o∙crite (hip-uh-krit) n. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess.
Our world is such that we don’t have to look around our immediate area to see the hands of hypocrisy at work. We can go right to the internet to see it from politicians, celebrities, athletes, or even our friends--thanks Facebook.
However, it seems to especially get our collective goat when we see individuals in positions of power abuse said power. Many of history’s villains come to mind; Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Donald Trump to name a few.
With that out of the way, I pose a question. Is Roger Goodell a hypocrite?
I am hard-pressed to think of a commissioner in any sport over the last decade that has so poorly meted out punishment to his or her sports’ gravest transgressors. And certainly, it would be one thing if his or her judgments typically came down too light on the guilty. Far too frequently, Goodell has ignored the most important rule of judicial dynamics, that of "case precedent."
Case precedent broadly means that a judge who has seen a similar infraction before will typically punish in a similar manner as they have before.
Take the case of my dog using the laptop as a bathroom. I will administer some stern language and a little light discipline. Should this event happen again, I would make it a point to not take it to the "Michael Vick" level. That low blow will be as it may, but Goodell has this exact problem. He does not differentiate between the third-degree and the first-degree.
June 17, 2009. Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth pleads guilty to a charge of "DUI Manslaughter" in the death of a local Miami man. Stallworth is sentenced to 30 days in jail, 1000 community service hours, must undergo drug and alcohol testing, and has his driver’s license suspended for life.
While a controversial ruling by the Miami-Dade circuit court, what is done, is done.
June 19, 2009. The NFL indefinitely suspends Donte’ Stallworth without pay. This suspension would last for a year. In a memo circulated by Goodell:
"In the past few years, I have not hesitated to impose discipline, including suspensions, on club and league employees who have violated the law relating to alcohol use. Every club should advise its employees of their obligations and our commitment to hold people accountable for alcohol-related violations of law."
In punishing Donte’ Stallworth, Roger Goodell did two things.
Firstly, he threw down the gauntlet to players, coaches, and anyone else involved in the NFL. Put your ill-advised habits in check or I will come looking for you.
Secondly, he decided to step out of his shoes as the commissioner of a major sport and into those of "Justice Man." Under his guard, no villain--under his supervision--would fall through the cracks of the U.S. Justice System. Not now, not ever!
September 21, 2010. New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards is arrested for drunk driving. He blows .16, otherwise known as twice the legal limit. Compounding this disappointment is the fact that the Player Protect program provides 24-hour driving service for athletes. Braylon couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his Land Rover in the rough neighborhoods of Manhattan overnight. Instead, he decided to drive home at around 5 a.m. while inebriated.
Edwards has been accused of being a bad apple from time to time. Braylon even got involved in a fight with a friend of LeBron James outside of a night club in Cleveland. Given Goodell’s earlier statements on alcoholic crime coupled with Edwards’ spotty record and he could--and likely should--have thrown the book at Edwards, but he couldn’t even muster a page.
In fact, Roger was so uninvolved with this DUI arrest that the Jets had to take it into their hands to punish Edwards. Under Woody Johnson’s command, Rex Ryan sat Braylon Edwards for all of one play in their next game at Miami. I’m sure that Jets fans thought that was a bit too rough.
This was an opportunity to send another resounding blow in the battle of ethics in sports. Instead, Roger was likely too busy handling a turkey sandwich.
Maybe he had his hands full making sure that there is an NFL season next year. How is the CBA coming, Roger?
Since the Stallworth Precedent, there have been plenty of high profile players who have been caught DUI. According to a USA Today report by Sean Leahy, halfway through 2010 (not including Edwards), eight NFL players had been arrested under suspicion of DUI including Joey Porter, Ronnie Brown, Will Allen, and Rey Maualuga. None of which have received even a modicum of the penalty that could have killed Stallworth’s NFL career.
I’d like to reach the conclusion that Roger Goodell is, in fact, a stupid man who can’t quite strike an ethical balance. It’d be great to say that he doesn’t know what he’s doing from one moment to the next. I simply can’t. He’s come too far and done too well to be a complete buffoon.
Unfortunately, it seems that Goodell is worse than I initially thought. He is a hypocrite with a god-complex; without the intestinal fortitude enforce his lofty and entirely counterfeit philosophy.
Ladies and Gentlemen...
I give you "Justice Man."
Hyp∙o∙crite (hip-uh-krit) n. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess.
Our world is such that we don’t have to look around our immediate area to see the hands of hypocrisy at work. We can go right to the internet to see it from politicians, celebrities, athletes, or even our friends--thanks Facebook.
However, it seems to especially get our collective goat when we see individuals in positions of power abuse said power. Many of history’s villains come to mind; Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Donald Trump to name a few.
With that out of the way, I pose a question. Is Roger Goodell a hypocrite?
I am hard-pressed to think of a commissioner in any sport over the last decade that has so poorly meted out punishment to his or her sports’ gravest transgressors. And certainly, it would be one thing if his or her judgments typically came down too light on the guilty. Far too frequently, Goodell has ignored the most important rule of judicial dynamics, that of "case precedent."
Case precedent broadly means that a judge who has seen a similar infraction before will typically punish in a similar manner as they have before.
Take the case of my dog using the laptop as a bathroom. I will administer some stern language and a little light discipline. Should this event happen again, I would make it a point to not take it to the "Michael Vick" level. That low blow will be as it may, but Goodell has this exact problem. He does not differentiate between the third-degree and the first-degree.
June 17, 2009. Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth pleads guilty to a charge of "DUI Manslaughter" in the death of a local Miami man. Stallworth is sentenced to 30 days in jail, 1000 community service hours, must undergo drug and alcohol testing, and has his driver’s license suspended for life.
While a controversial ruling by the Miami-Dade circuit court, what is done, is done.
June 19, 2009. The NFL indefinitely suspends Donte’ Stallworth without pay. This suspension would last for a year. In a memo circulated by Goodell:
"In the past few years, I have not hesitated to impose discipline, including suspensions, on club and league employees who have violated the law relating to alcohol use. Every club should advise its employees of their obligations and our commitment to hold people accountable for alcohol-related violations of law."
In punishing Donte’ Stallworth, Roger Goodell did two things.
Firstly, he threw down the gauntlet to players, coaches, and anyone else involved in the NFL. Put your ill-advised habits in check or I will come looking for you.
Secondly, he decided to step out of his shoes as the commissioner of a major sport and into those of "Justice Man." Under his guard, no villain--under his supervision--would fall through the cracks of the U.S. Justice System. Not now, not ever!
September 21, 2010. New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards is arrested for drunk driving. He blows .16, otherwise known as twice the legal limit. Compounding this disappointment is the fact that the Player Protect program provides 24-hour driving service for athletes. Braylon couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his Land Rover in the rough neighborhoods of Manhattan overnight. Instead, he decided to drive home at around 5 a.m. while inebriated.
Edwards has been accused of being a bad apple from time to time. Braylon even got involved in a fight with a friend of LeBron James outside of a night club in Cleveland. Given Goodell’s earlier statements on alcoholic crime coupled with Edwards’ spotty record and he could--and likely should--have thrown the book at Edwards, but he couldn’t even muster a page.
In fact, Roger was so uninvolved with this DUI arrest that the Jets had to take it into their hands to punish Edwards. Under Woody Johnson’s command, Rex Ryan sat Braylon Edwards for all of one play in their next game at Miami. I’m sure that Jets fans thought that was a bit too rough.
This was an opportunity to send another resounding blow in the battle of ethics in sports. Instead, Roger was likely too busy handling a turkey sandwich.
Maybe he had his hands full making sure that there is an NFL season next year. How is the CBA coming, Roger?
Roger Goodell has been in a position to play "Justice Man" for about five months. Edwards still hasn’t been to court since being charged with drunk driving. He’s due in court March 7th, just out of range for a punishment that could leave the Jets out a WR1 for the Super Bowl. Now, ain’t that a coincidence?
Since the Stallworth Precedent, there have been plenty of high profile players who have been caught DUI. According to a USA Today report by Sean Leahy, halfway through 2010 (not including Edwards), eight NFL players had been arrested under suspicion of DUI including Joey Porter, Ronnie Brown, Will Allen, and Rey Maualuga. None of which have received even a modicum of the penalty that could have killed Stallworth’s NFL career.
I’d like to reach the conclusion that Roger Goodell is, in fact, a stupid man who can’t quite strike an ethical balance. It’d be great to say that he doesn’t know what he’s doing from one moment to the next. I simply can’t. He’s come too far and done too well to be a complete buffoon.
Unfortunately, it seems that Goodell is worse than I initially thought. He is a hypocrite with a god-complex; without the intestinal fortitude enforce his lofty and entirely counterfeit philosophy.
Ladies and Gentlemen...
I give you "Justice Man."
No comments:
Post a Comment