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Nearly 15 months after the NFL rolled out a beefed-up version of its Personal Conduct Policy, we’re prepared to conclude that it simply isn’t working.
And though we’ve previously argued that teams won’t have an incentive to avoid and/or to rehabilitate problem players unless and until the teams face the loss of draft picks, the more direct approach is to take harsh action against individual players who can’t stay out of trouble.
The issue is the topic of the latest PFT entry on SportingNews.com. You can read it right here.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
When pacman is allowed to re-enter the league without taking responsibility for Urbanski and his condition, you are right, it is not working.
When a coach with a medical condition is fined 30% of his salary and suspended, you are right, it is not working.
When another coach is caught cheating and fined +/- 10% of his salary and NOT suspended, you are right, it is NOT working.
Blame Roger Goodell for the failures of his personal conduct policy. It is his inconsistencies and mismanagement of the above situations that deem his policy a failure.
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Rating: 3.7 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Goodell looked like he was on his way to be running a stiff regime…until he found out that one of the Dynasties was involved in a scandal…Then he turns away from the harsh punishments, and decides that he doesn’t want the NFL to look bad by having a “Dynasty” cheat their way there.
F Him.
Just because you tell people that the Pats got a harsh punishment, doesn’t mean that they did, nor does it mean that you actually believe what you’re saying.
Get out of here.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:09 pm
“When pacman is allowed to re-enter the league without taking responsibility for Urbanski and his condition, you are right, it is not working.”
WTF does that have to do with the personal conduct policy?
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
“WTF does that have to do with the personal conduct policy?”
I’m surprised you figured out how to type that post if you sincerely need to ask.
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Rating: 1.75 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Pac-Man isn’t reinstated yet.
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Rating: Not yet rated
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Whats wrong with penalising a teams salery cap? Put a team in salery cap prison for drafting/signing known turds that have been in trouble with the law.What happens in highschool and college would count as well. It would cause turds to slowy sink to the bottom of the draft, rather than having all the floaters that are picked in the first three rounds of the draft.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:47 pm
What, you’re not content with letting the legal system decide who is responsible for Tommy Urbanski and his condition? If you’ve got information that the cops could use you had better step forward before you get yourself into trouble.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
The responsibility to stay out of trouble is THE PLAYERS.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!
It should not be the job of any team to babysit a player. It’s not like the players are children and team officials are the parents.
The team already loses when a player gets in trouble both p.r. wise, and more importantly the likely suspension that is handed down. Why should a team be further “punished” for the actions off the field of a grown man who they have no control of?
Look, I understand that people are pissed about players that break the law. All I am saying is that when A PLAYER breaks the law it is THE PLAYER who should be punished.
Just think about it logically, Florio.
A lot of you are going to give my post a low rating because I’m a Cowboys fan and will jump to the conclusion that that is my motivation for posting. That couldn’t be further from the truth as I was disgusted when we signed Adam Jones, and I’ve been disgusted by a lot of the things that Jerry Jones has done. But most of you will probably ignore that…
But again: all I’m saying is that when we as a society get away from the concept of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY we begin to lose a little part of the fiber that has made our country so great.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Fart face killa, your screen name shows your level of maturity not to mention your intelligence.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:36 pm
svnrdr,
Pacman Jones has no criminal responsbility for Urbanski’s condition. The court system will determine whether he has civil liablility. I bet against it . . . but if you truly believe Pacman is responsible for Urbanski’s injuries the only way to make Urbanski “more whole” is to compensate him with money. Pacman apparently has none. Therefore, if you are “pro-Urbanski” you should want Pacman earning a hefty paycheck so that when Urbanski wins his civil suit then Pacman will have funds to pay the judgment.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Vox,
Try a little common sense, it goes a long way. I am certainly for allowing the legal system to run its course, but there is a lack of evidence, not information that proves his innocence. Do you sincerely believe OJ did not kill two people?
And as far as Pacman being reinstated…key word is “yet”. The commissioner’s decision to allow him to participate in OTA’s and training camp speaks volumes to his intentions.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Well of course it doesn’t work and it never will. But who cares. I say let the thugs play. Let Pacman play. Heck I wish my Vikings had traded for him. So screw the policy. The more thugs the better, us thugs have to stick together.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Wanna know what the NFL needs to do to see some serious results?
Stop trying to appease the hypocritical self-righteous fervor of the fans and media.
There has been no rise in the incidence of poor conduct among NFL players. NFL players are no more likely to be arrested than an average population of similar age and racial demographics. NFL players are no more likely to get in trouble than celebrities in entertainment or politics.
The only problem here is with the fan’s and media’s sudden decision to pretend to give a #@!# whether the guys they watch kill one another every Sunday are choirboys the other 6 days of the week.
Seriously: why have NFL fans started acting like a bunch of girls squawking over the latest issue of US Weekly?
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Rating: 4.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I said this a while ago and I’ll say it again.
If you treat the players like criminals, they’ll become criminals.
I’m not too sure what the solution is, but I know that punishing the teams will just create more cover-ups (obligatory PATS reference should go here). Punishing the players more than they’re already being babied (I mean, punished) will only make matters worse.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
1) The only reason the responsibility for the Urbanski incident is solely pinned on Pacman is because of who he is… he didn’t pull the trigger and was OUTSIDE THE CLUB when it happened… maybe he “made it rain,” but he didn’t even have a gun. Like Mini Ditka said, Pacman won’t be held liable in civil court for these reasons.
2) I’ve heard some damning reports of Urbanski’s role in the fight being more than that of an “innocent bystander.” Apparently he was quite the instigator that night. It’s a good idea to know both sides of the story before believing every word of Urbanski’s sob story when it pops up in Rick Reilly’s column.
The flaw in the personal conduct policy is that its lone purpose is to protect the league’s image. Goodell looks “tough on thugs” in the eyes of the MSM, so who cares if he neglects some incidents that don’t make headlines? He doesn’t need to be consistent. And Florio, it’s not Goodell’s job to stop crime and be a babysitter for players and teams.
The smart idea here is to let teams have control when it comes to disciplining THEIR OWN players. One could make the argument that teams won’t suspend key players but if they don’t, how will the fanbase react?
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Rating: 3.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
“Try a little common sense, it goes a long way. I am certainly for allowing the legal system to run its course, but there is a lack of evidence, not information that proves his innocence.”
Actually there’s evidently plenty of evidence that Pacman didn’t shoot Tommy Urbansky, assuming for one second that it’s the accused’s reponsibility to prove his innocence rather than the legal system’s duty to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Do you sincerely believe OJ did not kill two people?”
Wow, you preach “common sense” then compare Pacman to OJ? There was never another suspect in OJ’s case and there was no lack of evidence of OJ’s guilt. Cops believe that they have the guy that shot Tommy Urbansky, and it’s not Pacman Jones. I believe that you must be the only person on the planet that believes that Pacman pulled the trigger.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:09 pm
@40for60,”us thugs” the only thing you ever shot was a video.
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June 24th, 2008 at 12:16 am
sultanofslot, the hole in your theory is the teams individually are prohibited from disciplining players thanks to the bargaining agreement. Slimebags like Pacman become the league’s problem.
Pacman is considered responsible because his posse was there, he made it rain, a guy got shot, and by many accounts Pacman paid the shooter off. I suppose he may have been there selling girl scout cookies, I’ll give you that one.
“Urbanski a jerk” — that wouldn’t surprise me, he was bouncer at a strip club. Gosh. What you’re trying to make out of that point is beyond me. He deserved to get shot? Great logic there.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
June 24th, 2008 at 12:56 am
I dont think the personal conduct policy
is working and dont think it has a chance of working, especially
with free-agency in its current state. My point is ……
with the salary cap (a good thing!!!) evening the playing field for
all 32 teams, the only difference now between good teams and bad teams
is MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!! Well into this new era of free-agency and
collective bargaining, you are now starting to really see the each
teams philosophy, character and tradition come into play. That’s
the beauty of the game, something which this policy has failed to do.
I have news for you sports fans….. the NFL is a great league but not everyteam is great. I hate turds too, but this current policy
is trying to turn the league into a numbers game and who has the most.
Hopefully Goodell would use this as some sort of leverage, otherwise
its all going to fall into Upshaw’s lap.
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June 24th, 2008 at 1:54 am
First off letting the teams police thier own is what got us here in the first place. I think that every team in the NFL should be $50,000 for every game a player on thier team is suspended drug policy infractions included. I mean really Marshawn Lynch by all accounts hit a woman with his car and because he is pleading to a misdemeanor he is not subject to suspension that is the most retarded thing I have ever heard. But then again Leonard Little acctually killed someone. All crimes should be punished based on the original crime not the plea bargian deal if it is a felony to start with it is a felony come punishment time legal system be damned. Furthermore I think that extra monetary punishment should be levied against the players for example if a player is arrested and charged with a DUI he should have to donate 5 percent of his annual salary to MADD or some such organization.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 24th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Results-based thinking is a concept fit for those who believe that lucky is better than good.
The best system in the world might not stop 20-something millionaires from becoming punks.
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June 24th, 2008 at 6:28 am
You cannot polish a Turd, plain and simple.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
June 24th, 2008 at 11:27 am
“teams individually are prohibited from disciplining players thanks to the bargaining agreement. ”
Not. Teams discipline players all the time. Fines for being late, suspensions for conduct that is deemed detrimental to the team… happens a lot.
“Pacman is considered responsible because his posse was there, he made it rain, a guy got shot, and by many accounts Pacman paid the shooter off.”
That’s a bunch of bullshit reasons. There were plenty of people there, rapper Nelly was right there with Pacman “making it rain”, and the only guy that’s saying that Pacman paid somebody to shoot somebody else is the alleged shooter, and he’s claiming that he didn’t shoot anybody.
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June 24th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Darth Ringo, teams are allowed to suspend players for up to four games without pay, correct?
Anyways, the NFLPA, whose player representatives favor tougher discipline for players who commit crimes, could theoretically agree to give teams more disciplining powers if some of those powers are taken away from the league.
That could prove to be an attractive option for both sides. In the event of an unfair suspension, it’s easier for the NFLPA to go after an individual team rather than the entire league. Team owners get the ability to be responsible for their own players. And Goodell no longer has to deal with the player conduct issue being a black mark on the image of the NFL itself.
And come on, where’s your evidence that Pacman paid the shooter? Oh yeah, the shooter himself said so, as soon as he learned he was facing prison time. Could you find a less credible source?
As for Urbanski, apparently he went way over the line before getting shot. Not that it matters in Pacman’s case, because Pacman didn’t pull the trigger.
dolfans1323, I don’t think there was anything wrong with teams disciplining their own players. This didn’t become a huge media issue until Goodell made it one. Tagliabue was able to avoid being criticized because he wisely let teams, not the league, deal with isolated issues.
The system Goodell has currently set up is a disaster; Goodell has autocratic power to levy punishments, and he has no guidelines telling him how to do so, which results in punishments being wildly inconsistent. And whatever he does, NFL players will still commit crimes. All Goodell does is draw more media attention to it.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)