Hargrove v. Goodell (and 31 Filthy Rich Owners)

Roger Goodell was not shy in his punishment of the players allegedly involved in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. The commissioner alleges that the team had a system in place in which players and coaches contributed to a pool of money that was paid out to players as a reward for injuring certain opponents. Current Packer Anthony Hargrove received an eight game suspension for his alleged involvement. He received the second longest suspension among players because he lied to league officials during their investigation.

Hargrove is currently appealing his suspension on the grounds that he was told to lie by his coaches and team officials, and that he never participated in a ‘pay to injure’ system of any kind. Hargrove’s appeal is heard and decided on by the one and only Roger Goodell, the very person who meted out the suspensions in the first place. This is asinine to say the least. Why even allow for an appeals process if the arguments are not going to be heard by an impartial third party? Where is Shyam Das when you need him (probably in Bud Selig's executive torture chamber in the bowels of Milwaukee's Lake Park Bistro)? It seems obvious that Goodell is taking a hard line on this issue in order to protect the league against future financial consequences. The NFL is not exactly being portrayed as concerned for the health of its players by the NFLPA right now, as evidenced by the class action law suit and massive media attention it is facing surrounding concussions. Goodell wants to send the message that the league cares about player safety (I do not believe they do) and that it will be proactive in making the game as safe as possible considering its violent nature.

                A bounty system has no place in the NFL. It is against the rules and puts careers and lives in danger unnecessarily. I believe two things about bounty systems; players and coaches who are involved should be punished, and that their existence is far more prevalent than anyone would like to admit. The Saints have been made an example of, and that is fine, but there needs to be some sort of checks and balances in the process to keep the commissioner in line. Goodell has literally no reason to change his suspensions or even entertain the arguments of those appealing to him. The only thing keeping Goodell in check at any time is fear of retribution from the NFL owners, his employers. In handing out harsh punishments in this particular case, Goodell has done the bidding of the owners (again – his employers) in order to protect their long term financial interest. It strikes me as rather hypocritical of Goodell to increase Hargrove’s suspension based on the fact that the player simply carried out orders given directly to him by his employers in order to protect their financial interests.

                With regard to the eight game suspension, it will likely be upheld. It could be reduced based on evidence, but the public would have no way to know if and when that might happen, since the league is being at least reticent, if not dishonest in sharing the actual evidence supporting their suspensions. A more likely possibility would be that the suspensions are delayed, pending an ongoing legal battle (a la the Starcaps case of Kevin and Pat Williams). This would prove to be extremely expensive for the players, and the NFL (with its cavernous pockets) would likely come out on top. My suggestion to Hargrove would be to take your lumps, make your opinion known, serve the suspension, and come back with a chip on your shoulder the size of Roger Goodell’s ego.

                From a Packer standpoint, the suspension is really not that bad. Yes we lose our best free agent acquisition at a position of need for half the season, but there are more than enough capable bodies to fill in for eight games. We signed two other free agent defensive linemen (Philip Merling and former Packer Daniel Muir) and drafted two more (Jerel Worthy and Mike Daniels). Defensive line is a physically taxing position to say the least, and the line advantage often comes down to who’s got more gas left in the tank in the fourth quarter. There are worse things than a fresh set of motivated legs being injected into the defensive line group for the stretch run to close out the season (and hopefully beyond). The suspension allows Hargrove to be with the team, have full access to the facilities, and participate fully in practices. There is no reason to think that he won’t be both physically and mentally prepared once his opportunity to play arrives.

                Don’t hold your breath for the NFL to fix their appellate system, since the owners no doubt want to maintain total control. Goodell will continue to do their bidding at every turn (with the occasional, inconsequential decision that goes the players’ way for purely PR reasons), and he will do so to the tune of approximately $20 million per year. Let’s be real, at that price, I can’t really blame him. It is just football afterall.