What Are We Protecting?
| 11
|
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decided against letting Adam “Pacman” Jones participate in Tennessee Titans training camp, upholding his previous decision of preventing Jones from participating in any NFL games or practices this season. I completely agree with and support Goodell’s decision to ban Jones from NFL games for one year and hope that his stance against off-field misbehavior will “clean up” the league. But in my mind the league should be cleaned by helping out troubled players get on the right path and not by simply removing them. For this reason I can not agree with Goodell’s decision to ban Jones from practice.
First, I understand that the NFL can not “fix” every single football player by transforming them into Mother Teresas. There are certain guys who are bad guys and will never learn how to act. There may be instances where the NFL has to turn it’s back on a player, Michael Vick, if found guilty, could be one example of this. Rae Carruth is another one. Some guys do things that are so despicable that the NFL has no choice but to sever ties with the person.
In other instances, though, the transgressions are minor (in comparison to Carruth and Vick) and the player, while deserving punishment, may be pushed further down the wrong path by a severance from the league. Guys like Pacman Jones, Cincinnati’s Chris Henry, and the Packer’s Koren Robinson should be allowed to practice with their teams while suspended. At the very least the decisions should be made by their organizations and not Goodell. For guys like these football is the only positive impact in their life, the only thing demanding integrity and honor from them. When football is taken away from them the risk is much greater that they will fall further down the hole rather than choose good behavior (see Maurice Clarett). The simple reason is when you take them away from football they lose all of the people who cared about them and wanted them to be a better person. They are left to the people who were encouraging them to travel down the wrong path in the first place. Forcing these guys to miss half or all of a season is a substantial punishment, but preventing them also from practicing is a forced vacation and invitation to get into further trouble. It is obvious to us when are children are small that to keep them busy keeps them from causing trouble, but these adults who have already demonstrated a propensity to cause trouble are given tons of free time in which to work.
Goodell has taken a positive step by forcing these players to attend counseling sessions before being reinstated, but I believe these players would respond better to their coaches and teammates then shrinks. Peer pressure gets a bad rep, but it can also be a positive tool, just depends on how it’s used. NFL players who mess up are going to better understand the effect of their actions when forced to look into their teammates eyes and realize how they’ve let them down. Sure, training camps are open to the public and the NFL doesn’t like the image it creates to have Jones practicing. But the NFL should be careful not to go too far in cleaning up its image. While we should teach our kids that character counts, let us not teach them to turn their backs on friends who mess up, and people who need help straightening out their lives. I’ve always believed that one of our country’s greatest strengths is that we look out for the greater good of the nation while preserving the value of each individual. If football is to truly be our new national pastime then let it reflect this ideal. So please Mr. Goodell, don't just try to save face, try to save your players.
