All I have to say is FINALLY! NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell today (4/19/2010) gave an inclination into his decision regarding Ben Roethlisberger’s conduct off the field. Although no official discipline has been handed out, ESPN quoted Goodell as saying,
“The issue here is with respect to a pattern of behavior and bad judgments,” Goodell said on Patrick’s radio program. “You do not have to be convicted or even charged of a crime to be able to demonstrate that you’ve violated a personal conduct policy, and reflect poorly not only on themselves, but all of their teammates, every NFL player in the league and everyone associated with the NFL. And that is what my concern is, and I have expressed that directly to Ben, obviously, and I will be making a decision as soon as I possibly can.”
Goodell also said this,
Obviously there are disputes about the facts that occurred that night, but that is something that we take very seriously, and our players should not put themselves in those positions.”
Pittsburgh Steelers have been forewarned by Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin, if their conduct off the field is going to interfere with the image of the player, team, or NFL, they will not be playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I love it! A team is asserting their power in attempt to protect not only their brand, but the integrity of the National Football League.
The Steelers organization is letting their employees (because that’s that they are) know professional football is a privilege not a right. I am all for this zero tolerance policy. I’d like to give a little advice to Big Ben: You better get your act right! They already showed Santonio Holmes the door by trading him to the Jets for a 5th (yea that right 5th) round draft pick. That’s like saying, pretty please just take ‘em!!!! As for the Steelers and the NFL….You just made my day!!!!!
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Yes! The judgment was passed today and it is for a suspension of up to 6 games. All sports leagues need to take this approach. While there were no criminal charges filed there is a pending civil suit against Big Ben and with his track record he has posted a bad image while representing the Steelers & the NFL.
The more teams, leagues, organizations,etc. that hand down this kind of message that off field antics will no longer be tolerated just maybe, maybe, some of these “elite”, “idolized” “people” will realize they are just human like the rest of us and that the law DOES apply to them too. And then, maybe, they will start acting like and presenting themselves in public with the respect that the rest of us deserve from them!