Fantasy Football: NFL Eases Drug Testing To Distract From Ray Rice?

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/09/11/new-nfl-drug-policy-vote-nflpa

With major controversy surrounding the NFL, Roger Goodell and the recently terminated Ray Rice, the NFL is moving like lightning to ease up on weed.

WHY?

Not why are they easing up, but Why Now?.  The NFL drug policy has always been some convoluted, use in the off-season only, mixed message that is harshly used against weed abusers while front office alcoholics and oxy users engage in attempted homicide, choosing to drive while impaired.  If that wasn't enough disciplinary confusion, the Ray Rice domestic violence incident encouraged an instant revision to the domestic violence standards, but it may have just forced the NFL to ease up on weed too?

Why would Goodell, the famously tough commissioner, give in so much on something he just recently punished so harshly for?  An NFLPA (Players Association) vote is schedule for today (9-12-2014) and, if approved, is expected to be retroactive to players that are currently doing time for trace levels of recreational drugs (Browns receiver Josh Gordon tops that list of players).  Players might be voting today, but collective bargaining typically only occurs when contracts have expired and work stoppage is pending.

If the NFL has given ground on this issue days after Goodell promised he didn't see the video, Goodell is essentially slapping his own hand from recent recreational drug punishments at the same time that  he must get tougher on domestic violence, .  Is this just a way to take the attention off of the other failed decisions that Goodell has made recently?  More importantly, is it the right thing to do anyway?

Former NFL kicker and current NFLPA player representative, Jay Feeley, had his moment at the ESPN First Take desk today and his words made a lot of sense.  Feeley explained how he personally couldn't relate to addicted players who continue to risk their livelihood for the sake of illegal drugs like marijuana, until the Jim Irsay situation shined a light on the matter for him.  When Irsay, Indianapolis Colts owner, had to accept some form of punishment (what a joke) from his employee Roger Goodell, he was given 6 games of suspension from whatever owners who mix oxy and alcohol, do.  I'm still wondering how exactly the Colts team was punished for the actions of its owner, but I am not confused about what the official statement was on the matter.

I'm not saying that Irsay has always looked
like an abuser, but....okay, yes I am.

"He is seeking help and he's done that voluntarily," Goodell said in March, a week after Irsay's arrest. "Obviously any policies or laws that are broken, whether they are commissioner, player or coach, those are subject to discipline."  (cbssports.com)

Was Irsay disciplined?  Sort of!

In actuality whether it was Irsay or each ruling against Rice, Goodell is walking a slippery slope that is so very slick, he can't keep from falling. Easing up on drugs right now is another slip by Goodell mostly because it is not driven by the correct motivations.

Reactionary governing is how America ended up with the welfare state.

Easing up on off season abuse, which is what raising drug testing levels will do, is not a great formula for encouraging players to voluntarily get help as Irsay was said to have done.  Weaker testing policies will only benefit the current player practice of quitting just before the season begins and hoping that your detox plan will slip through testing.  Now, only the guys who just can't quit for a few weeks before the test, will get caught up into this web, and even they are being given a test beating compromise that should keep many players currently in the league drug program, below the new allowable levels.

Addicted people can be detrimental to themselves and their teams, but that applies to people who are addicted to food, drugs, sex or themselves.  What separates illegal recreational drugs from the rest of the addictive items I've listed is one word.  Illegal.

The standard that we place upon people who get paid a lot of money for whatever they do in life has always been a bit skewed.  The standard that we place upon athletes, especially NFL players, is moving into the realm of constitutionally illegal.  Weed is typically seen as a poor man's drug, so the prevalence of it in the black community and among black athletes makes it an easy target for public disdain and distorted punishment.  Alcohol, on the other hand, is socially accepted to the degree that we are much more comfortable with  potentially murderous front office executives only losing 6 games for drunk driving convictions.

Did recreational drug users who play football actually need domestic violence to gain some slack?

Basically.

What that says about righteous discipline is that you had better quit playing football if you expect to get treated like an American citizen  again.  Thanks to Goodell and the NFL, constitutional law might soon get a few new case studies for consideration.  Can a league legally flex their employment policy to meet whatever they consider to be public opinion?  Ray Rice was punished already for his actions. Granted, he was never given the correct punishment, but he was punished.  Even if the league decided to give him the result of the new policy, a policy that his wife beating helped to create; that new policy only called for 6 games on the first domestic violence offense, not an indefinite ban from the league. How can the NFL legally justify ignoring a rule that had been implemented less than a week prior?

Will Ray Rice force the NFLPA to stand up in his defense, and what will they say?  Wife beating is not a collective bargaining agreement like drug testing. The domestic violence policy is one of those 'Goodell is god' things that he can place under the umbrella of "detrimental to the league".  Detrimental behavior has suddenly become way too subjective to determine how Goodell might respond.  Carolina Panther superstar player, Greg Hardy, is playing as we speak despite a domestic violence conviction that he is currently appealing.  Apparently, the potential of winning an appeal is enough to keep you out on the field, so future offenders need to be preparing their appeal before they even commit the crimes.

Rice, who plea bargained his charges, falling on the mercy of the legal system, was forced to go get the help that he will need to correct the problem, while  Hardy is functionally innocent in the eyes of the NFL until his appeal says otherwise.  The Hardy story has only recently come to light so the question of whether public sentiment comes to bear on this issue, as it did on Rice, will be worth watching. If Hardy offends again while waiting on his appeal, then what?  Is he still considered a first time offender?

Either Goodell is working on losing his job or instigating a big lawsuit between a player and the league.  Nothing, except public disgust, is impacting the reason that Ray Rice has been banned from the league.  If he is coordinating with the NFL to take a year away and help Goodell and the Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti absorb the decision that (I believe) they all made to hide the worst of that video, than I do not expect Rice to sue either of his employers. Wait and see if Rice is not reinstated at the end of the season, and playing for the Ravens when he returns. Lawyers will line up to challenge the NFL treatment of Rice, while that same league turned a blind eye towards Hardy and many other players with domestic violence charges that are pending.  

These changes to the drug testing policy were inevitable because they are in tune with our changing world. but the timing only diminishes the statement made by this noteworthy act of contrition. If changes are made to the manner in which players receive help for addiction problems as Feeley claims, than the NFL will complete the circle started by this initial action today.

Change is painful, and the NFL is struggling so badly with change that they keep creating their own set of work place laws that are totally different than most employers must adhere to.  Up until now, we have allowed millionaire employee's to suffer at the hands of their billionaire employers because working for less than six figures a year doesn't naturally develop millionaire sympathy.  When seemingly unfair NFL discipline felt like the right thing to do for the players themselves and the children who look up to them, we allowed it to happen.

Suddenly everything has changed.

Roger Goodell has quickly confirmed that the NFL is only concerned with its bottom line, and that America is so football obsessed the we will allow the NFL to be the only corporation in America that can randomly re-write employment policy (even retroactively) whenever their bottom line demands it?

Fantasy football has a totally new meaning.

Roger Goodell Supporters Remain Steadfast Despite Mounting Evidence

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is steadfast in his
support of commissioner Roger Goodell.

I am never too fond of these sports topics that totally take over the entire two hours of ESPN's First Take with Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless and super moderator Carrie Champion (see; Tim Tebow), but the Ray Rice issue has ceased to be about the Rice family and has totally become about Roger Goodell and whether or not he should retain his job.

My previous post about this issue did not demand the firing of Goodell mostly because I am very cognizant of what his termination entails.  32 NFL owners will have to be convinced that Goodell was behaving deceptively and was likely in collusion with the Ravens and the Rice family on how this matter would be conducted for public consumption.  As hard as it seems to believe he is telling the truth, proving that he has done all of that might not be easy to do, but could be the threshold for his termination.

However, lets be clear about the details.  The Associated Press (AP) news organization is reporting that someone in the NFL office confirmed receipt of the full video.  If AP is to be believed (and they usually are) Goodell will struggle to remain exempt of responsibility.  Even if he did not see the video, this all happened 'on his watch'.

Those were the words of Goodell when he put the hammer down on the New Orleans Saints organization during Bounty Gate.  Several Saints staff, including the head coach and players, were punished during this over reach of Goodell.  Eventually, the former commissioner Paul Tagliabue would be called in as the arbitrator who found Goodell's rulings a bit too harsh, especially on linebacker Jonathan Vilma who lost several games to the misguided rulings of Goodell, but was fully exonerated by Tagliabue.

Add this potential lie to that Goodell misstep and it is easy to understand why Goodell should be on his last days with the NFL.  Most people are not convicted on potential truths except if it is being done by Goodell himself, so this current heat on Goodell might just be the rabbit with the gun (as one NFL player tweeted). In reality, Goodell will need to be captured dead to rights in order to convince his bosses or  his most vocal apologist, Stephen A. Smith.  When Smith went all-in on Terry O'Neill, the head of the organization called NOW (National Organization for Women), who called for the resignation of Goodell on their website, he found himself apologizing for the harshness of his words (Bayless reminded him that many women who work for NOW are often former victims themselves), but doubled down on his support of Goodell.  As hard as it was to watch Stephen A. stumble to defend Goodell, I had to acknowledge the fact that only one NFL team owner has spoken out to say that Goodell might lose support if he is proven to be lying.....and that owner remained anonymous.

NFL team owners love Goodell and he realizes the power of his position.  Commissioners don't get fired, they retire or resign at their own leisure because their jobs are secured by the difficulty of gaining a majority consensus.  Even the total exoneration of Saints linebacker Vilma did not result in admonishing Goodell who was responsible for confirming the facts on those he had punished. Guest ESPN analyst and former Saints player Jabari Greer, was a Saints player when Bountygate was being investigated by the league.  Given the thoroughness of their Bountygate investigation, Greer is confused why the league did not acquire the video tape on Rice. According to Greer (an NFLPA rep. who announced his retirement during today's episode of First Take), "It was clear that Goodell is on the owners side.  There is no compassion for the players from Roger Goodell", Greer added.

Nothing like a little controversy to shine light on people and situations. In hindsight, the whole role of NFL commissioner is reflective of a marketing plan and not a sound organizational approach.  "The GAME of football has become a pure business", according to Greer.  Yet, when he said that statement, he was shocked to be challenged by Stephen A. Smith who asked him the question, "Have you told that comment to the owners?"  Greer had to admit that he had not.

What Smith was pointing out was who they all work for, including Goodell, and he quieted the panel with his question.  How does anyone argue with the person who cuts all of the paychecks.  Complaining about Goodell might be expected and even allowed, but some owners have described this recent attack of Goodell as a "witch hunt" despite the facts that stand against him.  Employee whining that reaches the owners office comes at a major risk to that employee, but not having a viable place for grievance creates an antagonistic environment that is not healthy for employer or employee.

Speaking of healthy environments, Greer pointed out that none of the 32 NFL teams has an in-house clinical psychologist, and that needs to change today.  In a league of such prized athletes, doctors of every other sort are made readily available, but Greer claims that therapy is suggested through typical benefits posters like most employers are required to display.  It could be that an in-house psychologist would shut down on the field activities that NFL teams currently allow, like domestic violence issues or concussion issues, but these problems are forcing players to take the time away from the field that they currently only get during a public crisis that soils their reputation and that of the league.  If the NFL truly wished to address the problems that Goodell has tried to deal through the termination of Ray Rice, it would do more to avoid the issues like Rice is experiencing.

Disregard what you think about millionaire football players.  In reality, they are high paid cattle.  The really great ones, like Peyton Manning are cattle with opinions, but even he has someone watching for that moment in which he must be sold for value or sent out to pasture. That someone is typically called "the boss".  Commissioners retire because having 32  bosses makes it work out that way.  If the Baltimore Ravens owner is more willing to own his role in the under investigation of the Rice incident, it is because he is more untouchable than Goodell.  Aside from rare occurances, owners do not get fired, but commissioners can, and Goodell either needs to be fired or fired from his holy stature.

The NFL needed to change to role of the commissioner and this incident gives them a unique opportunity to save Goodell and save their soiled reputation by appointing a boss over the only employee in the league without one.  Roger Goodell has done good for the owners. $78 million dollars in players fines since 2006 might be proof of player stupidity that Goodell has kept from destroying the leagues reputation, but it is also evidence of a commissioner who answers to so many owners that he answers to no one.

To correct this problem, the NFL needs a punishment czar to oversee discipline and is also the boss of the commissioner.  Goodell can continue doing everything that he currently does for the league, but he would now be accountable to someone truly responsible for the shield and not just the shareholders.  Condoleeza Rice would be great PR for the current issue of domestic violence, and having Goodell implement the Greer suggestion of in-house therapy could offer additional healing to damaged NFL families and the wounded shield as well.

We may not be able to prove Goodell a liar, but he is nonetheless responsible for being on watch at the time.  Goodell has earned the termination so many are calling for, but even the new commissioner must be removed from this god-like responsibility, while retaining the power that comes from steadfast support of 32 bosses. In the banning of Rice, Goodell is disregarding his own new rule regarding domestic violence.  Unfortunately for the NFL, firing Goodell from his role as the existing commissioner makes the prospect of terminating future commissioners more realistic to disgruntled players who might not like Goodell's replacement either.  The owners duty to the shield and to the office of the commissioner will make this decision a tricky one for sure.

Goodell should be fired, but its much more complicated to the ownership group than a simple termination.  Firing Goodell would compromise the shield, which means he must be fired from his exclusive role of NFL decision maker.

Whether he stays or goes, Goodell must be fired from something.

Why Does America Expect Roger Goodell To Fix Domestic Violence? ...and why does he keep trying?

If getting Roger Goodell to step down is like domestic violence reparations, then he should step down today.  If his removal doesn't further the cause of domestic violence awareness or comfort any hurting victims, then he doesn't need to step down, he needs to fess up about seeing the full video and stop continually searching for the moral high ground once he's made a mistake.  Goodell should be naturally inclined towards earning, and maintaining, the immense respect that viewers have for the NFL by acting with integrity from the beginning and not as a reaction to potential revenue loss. On this issue, Goodell's reactions are late and his integrity, maybe even his honesty, are questionable.

But who are WE to talk?

What exactly did we imagine a knock out punch would look like? I am getting so very mad at America because WE decided that WE needed another lifeless body to compel us to care about a problem that occurs everyday.  Fortunately, Janay Palmer (Rice) got up off of the ground and did not die (this time), even if she chose to protect her abuser and her financial means of feeding her family as her response. This is predictable behavior in cases of  domestic violence, but we already know these things.  America is well versed in violence and its residual impact. Whether it is domestic violence, police violence or our pending violent pursuit of violent terrorists who behead American journalist', violence becomes us.  Some Americans have decided that the best solution to violence is more guns and more violence. I wonder how this story would read if Janay Palmer or Ray Rice had violent weapons on them?

Violence becomes us, and today's violent mirror is domestic violence, which is long overdue to be seriously addressed in a comprehensive way (mental healthcare). WE should not expect, or even allow the NFL to take the lead on such a serious social issue.  What we are indirectly asking Goodell to do is be a judge and jury for an entire league of professional athletes and potentially all of the people they do business with.  Goodell will have to monitor abuse from each of his employee's, male or female, and that of their spouses who might commit acts of violence against someone inside of the NFL family bubble.  Corporate affiliates with a public face might be asked to follow suit in order to maintain contractual relationships with the NFL.  On the surface that might seem like a good thing, but the topic today is domestic violence.  Tomorrow it will be child abuse and the next day it will be drug trafficking.  Goodell will not be able to keep a separate policy for every social ill that haunts society, nor should he try.

Because the full video made this a news story again, it begs the same question I began with.

WHAT DID WE EXPECT TO SEE?

Janay Palmer took some of the blame,  but did we expect to see Palmer swing at Rice before receiving a left hook, or did we believe that an open hand slap could cause her to hit her head against the hand rail, as Ray Rice and others seem to describe it? Some of her behavior appears defensive and some of it appears aggressive, but who expected her to roll into a ball while getting punched from that position?  Even if he ended up grabbing her like Jay-Z did his sister-in-law, would we commend him like we did Jay-Z and forget that Jay-Z probably needs conflict resolution skills after angering his sister-in-law into a fist fight?

Solange Knowles has domestic violence issues too by the way.  Many families do, but making Roger Goodell, the NFL, and the Ray Rice family be the leaders of a worldwide problem is simply wrong and insensitive to all of the Rice family, especially Janay, and to the issue of domestic violence in general.

Pope Francis warned us about this issue

Upon being elected pontiff of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis declared domestic violence to be the greatest worldwide problem that the church must address.  At the time he declared this statement, most news outlets scratched their heads and barely made a footnote of the statement.  Few took the Pope's words to heart, and no one used his spiritual guidance as a reason for a national referendum on domestic violence.
USA TODAY  - WORDPRESS     (news reports on Pope Francis to the council of Bishops)

The Rice family needed what they are finally getting, family therapy.  The NFL will have another act of domestic violence captured on tape in the near future, and that NFL family needs support today, not days after a tape is captured and revealed. If there is anything clear from the Rice family video of shame, this was not their first fight.  Despite Goodell's bold attempts to fix his errors with the Rice family, future domestic violence cases with NO video evidence will require the same legal channels that the NFL has typically honored in the past.  Enacting punishment on innocent employees is not a great public relations approach for any corporation, especially one that regularly draws the attention of millions of viewers.  Having indisputable video evidence is not grounds for ignoring the legal process. Although the legal process seems complicit in turning a blind eye to the Rice family video, his sentencing was actually consistent with first time offenders.

To my eyes, Palmer gets hit and then hits the hand rail before falling to the ground.  Did she get knocked out from the punch or the hand rail?  Who cares?  Domestic violence is bad news no matter how its going down because it NEVER ends well.  There are thousands of women in prison from killing men while defending themselves against domestic violence. Most are glad it was him and not them this time, but their families are the ultimate casualty.

The most severe results of domestic violence are grossly tilted against women, but the path to America's healing begins with shunning all acts of violence within the family unit.  If Goodell would like to bring some good to this bad scenario, he could encourage most (and demand other) NFL employee's to get family therapy.  The new face of domestic violence, the Rice family, are actually only the victims of an untimely video that will make the healing process a little harder.  Ray Rice needed  help for himself and his family, and the source of his curse (the video) will offer the path of his healing as his family is getting the help that other NFL families, currently suffering in silence, need as well.

When it comes to expecting the NFL to find the proper punishment to fit future domestic violence crimes, I say STOP IT!!  Kicking Rice out of the league probably punishes his victim even more than the perpetrator in this case. Forcing Rice to get help and sending part of his income to his current victim and the rest to organizations that will support future victims is probably a better approach.  The next video Goodell (or the future commissioner) will receive might be of child abuse captured on home security cameras, and then Goodell will have to gauge Americas feelings about child abuse versus domestic violence. PED's (performance enhancing drugs) might be easier to regulate, but certain crimes demand a case by case approach because that is how justice works. Goodell keeps chasing after a cookie cutter approach to player issues in order to exonerate the NFL from lost revenue, and we keep asking him to do it. If there is a crime to his behavior, its that Goodell seems hardly concerned about the well being of his employees and their families, but well focused on NFL shareholders and revenue streams.

Okay America!  I have gotten that off of my chest.  I'm still a little upset, but I am hopeful that WE have learned to STOP letting video evidence create our national call to action.  Of course, if this daily embarrassment that we keep doing to Janay Rice and her family doesn't lead to substantive actions (more family therapy in America) instead of these knee jerk reactions, then I might just get angry again.

You've been warned America,

Note to self:  Talk to my family therapist about this anger problem of mine.

Did Roger Goodell Eliminate Domestic Violence Or Encourage Under Reporting?

How can you tell if you have no clue about the importance of women to your company or to society?  No, this isn't about Hobby Lobby again, its about a football commissioner.

Roger Goodell was just recently introduced to a rather insensitive guy that just so happens to have the same name as him.  That's probably what Goodell is telling himself now that he thinks he is the new crusader for domestic violence.  In an epic move of historical significance, Goodell has upped the ante on players who beat their women.

Prior to the start of training camp, Goodell was painfully forced to make a ruling on Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice after video surfaced of a vicious altercation between he and his wife (then fiance) Janay Palmer. When Palmer did the 'ride or die' move and laid on the knife for the both of them (his money is her money), Goodell fell for the okie doke and assumed his chauvinistic fan base would find a  2 game suspension of Rice sufficient damage to their fantasy football teams.  More games than that would be threatening to shut down one of the top  running backs in a league that doesn't expect running backs to survive very long to begin with.  One lost season for a running back that has relationship problems could have been the kiss of death to his career and the Ravens chance to rise to the top of the league again.

Besides.  Its not like he smoked some weed or something like that.

Forget about the collective bargaining agreement that allowed for wacky weed sentencing.  American's believe that the punishment still has to fit the crime, and Goodell has just decided that one weed violator is almost three times the NFL criminal of a first time knockout artist like Ray Rice.  No Rog'.  We do not want you to retroactive the punishment or change the collective bargaining agreement.  You simply need to think about what you are saying when you're talking to would be abusers.

The message?:  if that &#$!$# makes you mad, you get one time to NOT handle it well......but after that we might ban you for life,( but probably just one year) unless you offer up the proper contrition before camera as Rice did to achieve his 2 game ban.

So let me make sure I am clear on this. A first time offender could come short of murder, but it would only cost them 6 games? A first time offender, who probably needs a little time off for therapy sake after getting placed in a cold, overcrowded, overnight jail cell, only gets 6 games? Since the whole world knows this rule now, will the first of the first time offenders simply figure that he will likely lose six games anyway, so he might as well get his six games worth?

Maybe there will never be one player who fits this distorted view of the "first time offender" that I've just laid out, but there better not be either.  Anyone who jaw jacks his fiance like Rice did, has the kind of problem that an aggressive game like football won't properly nurture.  Trust me.  I have some women in my family who sincerely believe that they can fight better than most guys.  Prior to their adulthood, I sincerely used to agree. Janay Palmer does remind me of some lady in my family, but I am not interested in seeing her or my cousin Boom Boom hit their stupid men upside the head any more than I am interested in allowing NFL football to set the lead on such a serious issue like domestic violence, especially when their leadership starts to look like spreading spilled milk with a wet mop.

What has been called a monumental clean up of a monumental mistake is more of a case of insult to injury if you ask me.  It's like Goodell accidentally confessed that blacks look like monkeys to him and then cleaned it up by saying that he made a mistake; only the monkey looking blacks look like monkeys.  In this comparison, Goodell has made it pretty clear that there is no place in the NFL for domestic violence....so you better not do it twice or we will review your case to see if you deserve a lifetime ban or not.

Huh?

The real motivation of my indignation is the improper revelation of domestic altercations.  In other words, teams under report incidents of domestic violence already, and this ruling is likely to force the hider's into deeper hiding given the significant risk that comes with a second offense.  What is the penalty for teams that hide abuse? That first time penalty will not be significant enough to catch the raised hand of an abuser mid-motion, just before anger and rage do what anger and rage do to those without proper control of these emotions.  But that second time penalty WILL curb first time reporting

Fret not Goodell.  At least your ruling will curb something.