DENVER-
Broncos cornerback Domonique Foxworth wholeheartedly supports the NFL’s crackdown on off-the-field problems.
But he still thinks the league may have judged Tennessee’s Adam “Pacman” Jones and Cincinnati’s Chris Henry too severely. Commissioner Roger Goodell recently suspended Jones for the entire 2007 season and Henry for eight games.
“It’s a shock to me,” Foxworth said Thursday. “I was surprised by how harsh the punishments were that came down. It sends a message: the stance of the NFL is very stern in off-the-field behavior, and I think that’s in concert with how the players feel, with how the coaches feel, with how the fans feel. It’s unacceptable.”
Foxworth was invited to attend a round-table discussion at the NFL combine in February as key figures from around the league talked about player safety and conduct. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, executive director of the NFL Players Association Gene Upshaw and a dozen players from around the league were just some of the participants in the discussion.
“The meetings were a big think tank,” Foxworth said. “There were so many ideas and I didn’t know what the league would end up settling on. I was surprised by the harshness of these punishments considering the incidents occurred prior to this new focus on off-the-field conduct.”
Jones and Henry were suspended under the old disciplinary policy. However, Goodell introduced a more stringent policy as he was handing out the penalties.
The message Goodell sent came across loud and clear.
“If it doesn’t have the players second-guessing their behavior, they won’t be around for long,” Foxworth said. “The NFL is going to clean up the league one way or another.”
While meeting with league representatives at the combine, Foxworth kept bringing up one important issue—education. He thinks more programs need to be established to aid and assist players.
“It should be a continued education process,” said Foxworth, who lost close friend and Broncos teammate Darrent Williams to a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Day. “Hopefully there will be more preventative acts than reactionary acts. We don’t want to see too many more suspensions. We’d rather prevent some things from occurring than have to react to them.”
One thing Foxworth would like to know is how the punishments will be handed out.
“Different situations require different punishments,” Foxworth said. “I would hope that there’s not going to be a big blanket thrown over everybody. Hopefully you won’t (give) a guy for some severe crime the punishment you (give) a guy for a speeding ticket.”
Bowlen strong believes that Goodell did the right thing implementing the new policy. He applauded Goodell for his stance of off-the-field behavior.
“I absolutely do,” Bowlen said Tuesday night before he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. “I think he took a tough stand and I think he had to.”
So does Foxworth.
“I definitely think that people should be rewarded for not only what they do on the field but the way they carry themselves off the field,” Foxworth said. “Off-the-field stuff can be overlooked if you run fast enough and you’re strong enough. The NFL is taking a step in what I believe is the right direction.”
