The National Football League’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, has just made it a lot more expensive to be a thug. Goodell suspended the Titans’ Pacman Jones without pay for the upcoming season (a loss of $1.29 million in base salary) and the Bengals’ Chris Henry for the first half of the season (surrendering as much as $230,000 in base pay). Jones has been arrested five times since he was drafted two years ago; Henry was arrested four times between Dec. 2005 and June 2006.
So here is the question: in the upcoming N.F.L. draft, how much has the value of crime-prone players fallen? Individual teams and the league itself put together fat dossiers on every legitimate draft pick, including psychological profiles and criminal tendencies. Has Goodell’s new anti-crime stance just made good citizenship more valuable?
16 comments:
I think it is good for Pacman Jones and Roger Goodell to be suspended. Just because they both make millions of money does not give them the right to act like that. Although i would like to be rich enough to take 80000 dollars to a strip club like both of them did.
William Brooks-2nd
I definatley think being a good citizen should be considered in the NFL draft. Otherwise; the team who is picking has to worry if their will be a problem in the future. Pac man jones deserves his suspension as does Goodell. There are so many crimes committed on the Bengals team; most of their players have does something illegal at some point in time. It should be automatic to check a players background and use this to influence them whether they want the player or not.
I think the NFL teams should focus on a players criminal record when draft day comes. It will save them a time and pain from issuing out fines and punishments. Chris Henry and Pac Man Jones should just be happy that their getting paid what they are and not commit any stupid crimes!
Jeremy Green 5th period
Being paid that much just to play football is criminal.
Sarah Hobson
I also agree that the players should be suspended for their conduct. I think it's pretty crazy that nine members of the Cincinnati Bengals were arrested within a nine month period. It's probably pretty hard to win games when half of your team is in jail, after all. Just like how one of us get fired from a job for getting thrown in jail, these athletes should have to live up to the same standards at their work that anyone else would have at their work.
Michael K 2nd
This is great for the NFL, the sport of football, and sports in general. The only other sport to take such a "hard-line" stance on such behavior is soccer, the greatest sport in the world - Go FC Dallas - where fans are banned from attending for rioting - see the bottle throwing "fans" of Cleveland - and if a player does something bad enough to get thrown out of one game, the least he can expect is to be suspended for the next game. One of the best, and dumbest, players for the Cowboys, Leon Lett, had several problems with drugs, and all he ever got was a slap on the wrist, and here we see Pacman Jones getting suspended for an entire season for controlled substances - it's great. Basketball could learn a thing or two from the NFL as far as criminal behavior. If I was the NBA commissioner, Ron Artest would never play another game. Great Job NFL.
Thomas D. 2nd
P.S. - Roger Goodell is the Commissioner, he wasn't suspended.
P.P.S. - I'm going to go ahead and beat someone to the point and blame the Democrats for crime.
All of this is rediculous. I say we just let them bring guns on the field with them... Ratings would go up and that would equal more revinue.... Let em' play... Let them serve there punishment in jail. Oh.. and that Chris Henry guy looks like vampire.
Sterling (2nd)
I think it's a good idea.
katie h. 2nd
In America if you are a professional athlete you are somebodys role model. it doesnt set a good example to be a criminal , and on top of that get away with it.. "living the life"
the anti crime stance is a great idea both for our athletes and their fans.
-- krystal walsh (2)
yeah i like the idea
Whitney A 5th
I think the NFL is doing the right thing in placing suspensions on these out-of-line players. When these young men are drafted into the NFL and are handed such astronomical amounts of money for it, i think they lose their sense of reality. Many of these players come from low income families and never dreamed of having that much money. With all that money in hand think they invincible to anything and everything. I also think that by doing this the NFL is showing that without this organization the life these players live would not exist. The commissioner is doing the right thing.
Ethan H. 5th
You would think that if someone had an oppurtunity to stay away from crime and make millions playing a game, they would take advantage of it. Too bad.
Jordan L/5
Finally some has the guts to step up to the plate against the thugs. In a period of nine months, nine Bengals players were arrested and if I remember correctly it had something to do with weed, not a 100% sure and Carson Palmer, their quarterback, called them out and said how pathetic it was that a team has 9 guys arrested. I think it is good that they are doing something, just because you are rich and a professional athlete doesn't mean you are above the law, they should be treated just like the general public. In my opinion pro athletes think they can do whatever, kill, steal, drink, smoke dope, use steriods, and many other things.
Sam D. 5th
its about time professional athletes got some of the same punishments as the rest of us. yay
raelynn s5th
" I'm going to go ahead and beat someone to the point and blame the Democrats for crime. "
Ahh were making progress.
<3 Marcus
No special treatment should be granted to NFL players. Rewarding players with clean or minimal criminal backgrounds would be an assisting factor in the overall suspension percentage of NFL players, great idea.
Naomi G(5th Period)
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