In the stern wake of Roger Goodell comes a “Monday Night Football” game between the Broncos and Tennessee Titans.
Goodell, as NFL commissioner, will not strap on pads or a helmet, but his iron fist has already delivered a serious blow to one team, while the other team fears another.
The Titans will not bring along Adam “Pacman” Jones. A third-year cornerback who had displayed the league’s best return skills this side of Devin Hester, Jones’ repeated off-field mishaps drew an unprecedented one-year suspension.
Jones became the poster child for Goodell’s newly strengthened conduct policy. Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry and Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson were each suspended a half-season for their multiple off-field incidents. Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Michael Vick has been booted indefinitely for his part in a dog-fighting ring.
Goodell is only in his 15th month as commissioner, yet his short tenure has been defined by the harsh manner in which he has dealt with those whose actions have splattered mud over the NFL’s image.
“I don’t think the penalties are harsher, I think the crimes are worse,” Broncos defensive tackle Sam Adams said. “The things people are doing are getting dumber and dumber every day. I don’t care about the image. If people are doing things they shouldn’t be doing, something needs to be done about it. I don’t remember a time in the 14 years I played that these things have happened so frequently. Something needs to be done. He’s the man charged with getting it done.”
Henry awaits his fate
Meanwhile, the fate of star running back Travis Henry hovers above the Broncos like a distracting storm cloud. Henry may or may not play Monday because of a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Which means Henry may or may not play for the Broncos again.
Henry met with NFL officials Friday to dispute his urine sample that tested positive for marijuana earlier this year. If Henry loses his appeal, he could receive a one-year suspension. There’s a chance his penalty could be reduced, as was the case with Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen, who had his four-game suspension for repeated DUIs reduced to two games.
But for Goodell to show mercy upon Henry, his image problem must be separated. Prior to Henry’s allegedly failed drug test, it was revealed he has fathered nine children with nine women.
Goodell is expected to rule on Henry’s case Tuesday. No doubt, the NFL will say it passed judgment strictly on the merits of 21 nanograms of THC found in Henry’s urine sample. But if somehow the numbers nine and nine seep into Goodell’s subconscious, Henry is going to have a tough time winning the argument.
New sheriff in town
The NFL has a new sheriff and it didn’t take long for perpetrators to learn there is no greater crime than to misbehave in a way that damages the integrity of the league’s shield.
“The commissioner’s statement is widespread,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. “I think the commissioner’s statement transcends football at all levels now, and sports for that matter. I think it was much needed. I think things were getting a little out of hand. And it’s apparent he’s got it back under control. I think everyone’s learned from it and everybody understands.
“I think because of his actions, most players understand what a privilege it is to be a part of the National Football League. It’s incumbent upon the players to take advantage of the opportunity to do things the right way within the rules. If they don’t, they’ll suffer the consequences.”
Adams said the crimes are worse. Is that because today’s players are paid like never before, and therefore are exposed to more illicit adventure?
“I don’t see Paul Allen or Bill Gates going out and shooting up strip clubs,” Adams said. “I’m going to tell you what the problem is: Our role models have gotten worse. People have glorified certain figures. If you go and watch ‘American Gangster,’ they basically glorified a guy who’s shipping drugs in a dead soldier’s casket. Come on.”
Following the protocol of his predecessor Paul Tagliabue, Goodell rarely fields media phone requests personally. Instead, he delegates such inquests to league spokesman Greg Aiello.
But as the Minnesota Vikings players involved in the 2005 Love Boat scandal would attest, Goodell has separated himself from Tagliabue regarding the expectations of role-model behavior. Even though two players from the Love Boat party, Fred Smoot and Bryant McKinnie, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, they were not suspended, only fined, by the league.
Think Jones wishes Tagliabue was still commissioner after he was charged for allegedly igniting a fight and shooting at a Las Vegas strip club last spring?
“The commissioner is trying to extend careers, he’s not trying to shorten them,” Aiello said. “We just reinstated Ricky Williams. Tank Johnson is back playing. Chris Henry is back playing. These players hopefully will have longer careers now that they realize what they have to do to conform to the league’s policy and expectations.”
Goodell earning respect
Through all appearances, Goodell is a likeable sort. He is friendly, self-effacing and respectful. He will listen to the Broncos’ defense of Henry. Goodell does not seem like a guy who through actions has been almost czar-like while administering punishment.
A few players have grumbled that if Vick were a baseball player, he would have been playing in September because the Donald Fehr-led union strongly fights to protect a player’s rights.
“I respect what the commissioner has done,” said Broncos defensive back Domonique Foxworth, who served on a players committee that conferred with Goodell on the league’s new conduct policy.
“I don’t know if I would applaud it. He handled some things in a way that I would have handled differently. But that’s why he’s the commissioner and I’m a lowly safety-corner-nickel whatever. This new policy seems to be working well for the league. I think it’s the job of the players union to fight for the players’ rights. It’s not the job of the commissioner.
“For the people who think the commissioner has gone overboard, it’s the responsibility of the union to keep the league in check. The league’s responsibility is to keep the players in check.”
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
