Roger Goodell is a joke. The NFL has become the league of arbitrary suspensions and meaningless change. And this is thanks in part to one man, Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Stay Off the Damn Weed
It seems as if all Goodell cares about is suspending players for smoking weed. It’s an atrocity. How is it okay to randomly suspend players for a plant? Particularly when that plant is legal in many of the states these players live and play. Even if it isn’t legal, it is often decriminalized, so what’s the issue? Instead you have players being prescribed opioid pain killers, which are incredibly addictive.
It’s no secret that a large number of player smoke by the way. Chris Long retired this offseason and immediately came out stating he smoked marijuana throughout his career and most other players do too. Would the owners not prefer their players sit and binge watch Workaholics and eat a pizza then be addicted to pain killers?
Okay so you don’t want to completely legalize it in the league. Great, then stop testing for it at least. One solution is to simply discuss corrective action when a player is caught with it by police, etc. There isn’t any reason to actively test for a plant when it is increasingly accepted in the world we live in. Just look at what Josh Gordon has had to go through since he came into the league.
Steven Jackson
Steven Jackson recently signed a one day contract with the Los Angeles Rams. He simply wanted to retire as a Ram. He wouldn’t be playing a game, wouldn’t be doing anything but a ceremonial deal to be remembered. The NFL front office apparently didn’t get the memo. Jackson received notice he was to appear for a random drug screening with an NFL Advisor. Of course, Jackson will not be complying, because what are they going to do? Fire him? Again, Roger Goodell is a joke.
Domestic Violence/Assault
Now this is a touchy subject, and I’m not going to go too in depth for respect of anyone involved. The league has done an awful job of creating any sort of real policy for dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, and assault. This has especially become an issue with big name players. Ezekiel Elliott, Tyreek Hill, Jameis Winston, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and many more have all been involved in altercations that fall into these categories. Some have been involved in multiple incidents. Yet there is nothing close to consistency. Some players have never played again, some faced extended suspensions, and others have faced no penalty at all.
I get it, some cases have different evidence showing exactly what happened. Clearly a video of it makes the situation more clear. But in some cases, video evidence, audio recordings, and more are available, and nothing is done. This is an issue in the American justice system just as it is in the NFL. But the problem with what Goodell is doing, it sets a precedent for young players. High school and college players think because they are a star athlete they are able to do anything they want. The league is not setting up the players of tomorrow to be the men we want our children to look up to. All because Roger Goodell is a joke.
