With Vince Young, Cedric Benson and Michael Vick avoiding suspensions, is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell losing his big stick?

Big Ben wouldn’t say so and neither would Detroit Lions exec Tom Leywand who was hit with a 30-day suspension and a $100,000 fine by the NFL for his recent DUI arrest but look at some of the history of the league’s policy and how Goodell may be slacking off a little bit.

One of the earliest acts of Goodell was his enactment of the NFL Personal Conduct Policy in April 2007.  This was in response to what had been a particularly disturbing season of player conduct issues in 2006.  Although the policy has been strongly defended by many members of the NFL it has faced equally as strong opposition from others.  This has left many wondering about how it is determined that a player or staff member be suspended.

Chris Henry and Adam “Pacman” Jones were the first two players to feel the wrath of the policy when they were both hit with suspensions shortly after the policy was enacted on April 10, 2007.  Henry was suspended for the first eight games of the season while Jones was forced to sit out for the entire season.

Henry was suspended following five arrests in the span of 28 months and a two game suspension late in the 2006 season.  He was warned that further arrests or off-field issues could result in the end of his career as an NFL player.

Jones was suspended following ten separate interviews with police in his short career.  His most recent offense before the suspension came in a strip club brawl in February 2007 that left one man paralyzed. 

Following an altercation with his bodyguard at a Dallas hotel on October 8, 2008, Jones was again suspended for the minimum four games for violations of the conduct policy.  Jones was eventually released by the Dallas Cowboys and played briefly for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.  He has since rejoined the NFL as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

One June 4, 2007, Tank Johnson was suspended for the first eight games of 2007.  This was in response to a misdemeanor weapon charge.  Johnson was required to spend 45 days in prison along with the four month sentence he was already serving for probation violations.

Among the most notable of the suspensions might be that of then-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.  When police initially conducted a narcotics search of Vick’s property in April 2007, the wound up finding several animals that were part of an illegal dog fighting ring that Vick had established.

Vick was suspended indefinitely without pay by the NFL on August 24, 2007.  He would remain suspended while serving his jail sentence before being reinstated on July 27, 2009.  After being signed to a one year contract by the Philadelphia Eagles, Vick was allowed to play the final two preseason games of that year but was required to sit out the first two regular season games.

Donte Stallworth was suspended for the entire 2009 season following manslaughter charges for an incident that occurred in Miami on March 14, 2009.  Stallworth served 24 days of a 30 day sentence before being released from prison.  Stallworth was released by the Cleveland Browns and reinstated following Super Bowl 44.  He will be a member of the Baltimore Ravens for the 2010 NFL season. 

The latest to be suspended under conduct policy violations is Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.  Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault at a Milledgeville, Georgia nightclub in March 2010.  Even though criminal charges have not been filed, Roethlisberger will miss the first six games of the 2010 NFL season.

Many have criticized the suspensions and stated they were too harsh when charges were never filed in some cases.  Many also point to the “spygate” incident in which members of the New England Patriots staff were caught videotaping defensive play calls of other teams following a September 2007 game against rival New York Jets. 

Coach Bill Belichick was never suspended but was fined $500,000.  Many were critical of no suspension being handed down even though videotaping is not listed as a violation in the policy.  Goodell later stated that the videotaping of the calls did not impact the game between the Patriots and the Jets – a game the Patriots won 38-14. 

Though Benson, who is mentioned earlier, was recently forced to meet with Goodell due to his arrest for assault with bodily injury, he was not suspended for personal conduct violations.   Jets receiver Santonio Holmes was recently suspended for the first four games of the regular season although it was in response to the substance abuse policy of the NFL. 

Tennessee Titans quarterback Young was recently cited for assault after a strip club brawl in Dallas but will not be suspended for any length of time from that offense. 

For the sake of clarity, one can only hope that Goodell will provide clarification in the future in regards to the reasons for suspensions or lack of suspensions.  If certain players are to be suspended without charges and others will walk free there seems to be some explaining that should be in order.

And should a personal conduct policy really be in place for current NFL players?  If a retired player or someone such as a general manager makes a colossal mistake it will still reflect negatively on the image of the NFL even if they aren’t on the field of play every Sunday.

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Used with permission of the author.

Cade Caldwell is an Atlanta-based sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The New York Jets continue to add NFL players with questionable character.

Receiver Santonio Holmes was dumped by the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Jets 5th round draft pick but the player will not be on the field until Week 5 of the upcoming NFL season.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Holmes will be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Although Holmes has 235 career catches for 3,835 yards and 20 touchdowns, he brings a decent amount of baggage with him. In 2008, he was busted for possession of marijuana and prior to that was involved in a domestic violence incident in 2006.

Jets owner Woody Johnson seems headed down the same path that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took a few years ago when he gambled on Tank Williams and Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, two other players with records.

That road hit a dead end for Dallas but time will tell if the same happens to the Jets.

In addition to Holmes, the Jets added disgruntled Cleveland Browns receiver Braylon Edwards last year, just two days after he was accused of punching someone at a downtown Cleveland nightclub and also obtained Antonio Cromartie last month from San Diego.

Cromartie has fathered seven children by six women in five states and is facing legal issues regarding some of those.

If that isn’t enough baggage to add to a locker room, the Jets also had an interest in former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, who is currently behind bars for carrying a concealed weapon and shooting himself in the leg outside a New York nightclub during November 2008 and last month were said to be trying to obtain Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos, another player who appears to need an attitude adjustment.

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After an NFL week full of ‘Pacman’ Jones cut by Cowboys and Brett Favre ‘retire or not’ news, teams took the field in two NFL Playoff games on Saturday.

The Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals’ were handed the ball and road victories by the favored Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers Saturday in NFL Playoff games.

In the AFC match-up, the Titans dominated in the stats category outgaining the Ravens 391 to 211 in total yards, 21 to 9 in first downs and 34:07 to 25:53 in time of possession.

The Ravens ignored the stat sheet and took advantage of several Titans turnovers to make QB Joe Flacco the first rookie quarterback to ever guide a team to two playoff wins. Veteran placekicker Matt Stover sealed the win with a 42-yard field goal with just 57 seconds remaining in regulation time sending the heavily-favored Titans home packing 13-10.

In the NFC match-up, QB Jake Delhomme and the Panthers were reminded you cannot get away with handing the ball over 6 times, even to an underdog like the Cardinals.

Arizona QB Kurt Warner and his potent offense converted six Jake Delhomme turnovers (5 interceptions- 1 fumble) into 23 points in their 33-13 blowout win in Charlotte.

Cardinals’ WR Larry Fitzgerald ended up with 8 receptions for a team record 166 yards.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

A lot is happening in the Cowboy’s camp this week. There is a buzz about Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones returning to the team, QB Tony Romo, who is throwing without a splint on his broken finger, spending the day at the movies with a homeless guy named, ‘Doc’, T.O missing practice with an illness, the list goes on and the media eats it up.Maybe too much.

While we columnists scramble to be the first to report the latest ‘news’ on the ‘Boys, the pertinent items, like performance on the field, find a way to make it to the back burner.

Pertinent items, like the fact these same ‘Boys have lost more games before Thanksgiving Day that they lost all last season and sit three full games behind the New York Giants.

Jerry Jones was quick to cheese in front of the cameras to tell the world his troubled player ‘Pacman’ was being reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell but here we are days later and there is still no official word from the NFL. Is Jerry jumping the gun here? Maybe he should borrow Romo’s splint and put it on his tongue and let the league do the press releases.

And the NFL’s newest Boy Scout, Romo–is this guy for real or is this all a PR stunt? Helping an old couple change a tire on the side of a dark road then going to a flick with the homeless guy-it’s old-school, Boy Scout walking the old lady across the street stuff, and the timing couldn’t be better for the Cowboys.

With the team anxiously awaiting a confirmation from the league, the timing of this Good Samaritan act is somewhat interesting.

These may all be good-faith gestures but either way, it takes the media pressure off the ‘Boys concerning their lackluster performances. Has anyone asked T.O. and the team about Owens gaining less than 40 yards per game over the past four games?

PR. Gotta love it.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax