The Dolphins’ Joey Porter visited ESPN’s “NFL Live” tonight and in the wake of Pacman Jones and Chris Henry’s suspensions, expressed contrition for his recent altercation with Levi Jones.
Host Trey Wingo proclaimed Porter “one guy who gets it”, and declared that Roger Goodell’s decisive action had sent a clear message to the league’s workforce.
Not so fast, replied the usually useless Mark Schlereth (above), who wondered if Goodell is so worried about the integrity of the league, where’s the concern for Ted Johnson or the late Mike Webster? “I applaud the commissioner,” insisted Schlereth, “but the league isn’t doing enough to look out for the players.”
To those who think Gene Upshaw’s low profile this week is because Pacman Jones is impossible to defend, well, that’s exactly why he needs defending. Can you imagine Donald Fehr allowing a member of his union to be suspended for a full season prior to a criminal conviction?
Now that Drew Bledsoe is officially retired, hopefully he can find the time to work on a blog that’s actually funny. If you’re wondering what’s my excuse, I’m not retired yet.
Suspension prior to a criminal conviction is not what happened here. A long list of events and behavior went into the suspension. After one has experienced the results of violent behavior, you don’t quite see it as nothing.
Suspension prior to criminal conviction is EXACTLY what happened here, in that Pac-Man 1) has been suspended for the season and 2) has not been convicted of any crime. So, you know, on that level of “exactly what happened,” your statement is incorrect.
Whether or not it’s the right thing to do is something different. But while Pac-Man is clearly a shitheel, and probably deserving of a suspension, it’d be a lot easier to take if it was done by the rules; whether exposure to “violent behavior” or not would change that opinion I don’t know and hope not to find out, but rules (laws, if you want) exist for a good reason, yeah? I’ll confess to also being creeped out by Goodell’s “take charge” authoritarianism and the degree to which sports pundits are turning cartwheels over the fact that he — unlike his soft, molly/Chris Henry-coddling predecessor — doesn’t get all wussy about due process. Upshaw being out to lunch isn’t news, and I guess neither is the fact that the herds of Cowherds out there have an authoritarian bent, but they’re both bummers.
sorry Susan, I sometimes forget that you’re the only person qualified to comment on the results of violent behavior. But regardless of whether or not you think Pacman Jones is a creep, he’s entitled to due process. Or at least he would be in another sport.