Will we finally see professional sports get serious about the thuggishness of some of the players?

The National Football League yesterday delivered the crackdown on criminal conduct by its players that it had promised. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the entire 2007 season and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry for the first half of it. The league also announced a strengthened conduct policy that empowers Goodell to banish a player permanently for repeated offenses and punish a team for misbehavior by its employees.

"We have long had policies and programs designed to encourage responsible behavior, and this policy is a further step in ensuring that everyone who is part of the NFL meets that standard," Goodell said in a written statement issued by the league. "We will continue to review the policy and modify it as warranted."

The issue became a priority for the NFL after at least 35 players were arrested in the first 11 1/2 months of last year, bringing waves of negative publicity for the country's most popular sport and making the game's leaders wary that sponsors and business partners could look for other places to spend their money. The trend of off-field misconduct has continued since, with approximately 15 more arrests.

I think this is a good move on the part of the NFL, as increasing lawlessness among a handful of players has begun to tarnish the image of the league as a whole. And as I've seen since one of my former students was drafted by the Detroit lions a few years ago (and since the Houston Texans came to town), most players are really good, decent individuals with high standards for their personal conduct -- but their wholesome lifestyles don't get the coverage that folks like Jones and Goodell draw for their criminal conduct.

My hope is that other professional sports follow this example -- especially the NBA, where players seeking "street cred" has led to any number of unfortunate incidents in recent years.

Posted by: Greg at 10:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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