Goodell Discusses Burress' Future

From Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News:

When Plaxico Burress shot himself in November, he’s lucky it was his first offense. Otherwise he might already have been suspended from the NFL.

That seemed to be what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier when he addressed, for the first time, why the league hasn’t punished Burress yet, even though it’s been two months since he shot himself in the thigh. The league consistently has said it’s waiting for the legal process to play itself out before taking any action.

Goodell said the NFL might not have waited if Burress had any prior violations of the Personal Conduct Policy.

“Our rules and our policy are quite clear from when we revised our personal conduct policy that we’re looking to deal with repeat offenders,” Goodell said. “We may not wait for the legal process to conclude when we have repeat offenders. You can have a false accusation once, maybe twice. When you start getting into multiple accusations, you are putting yourself in the wrong position. You are making the wrong decision. You are in the wrong places. At that point in time, you are reflecting poorly on the NFL, yourself, your teammates. That does damage for all of us.”

The interesting part about the Personal Conduct Policy, though, is that it was crafted so that the commissioner didn’t necessarily need a conviction to act. It states that any action that embarrasses the league or hurts its image can draw a suspension or a fine. In the past, simple charges have resulted in league punishment.

But for a first-time offender - which apparently Burress is - Goodell apparently prefers patience. It’s not that Burress won’t eventually be suspended, but he’s apparently going to get his day in court first.

“I’m very firm on the fact that everyone deserves the opportunity to be defended,” Goodell said. “Everyone has the opportunity, if they make a mistake, to deal with that, and deal with it within the legal process. We understand that many times, our players are targets, and we can’t rush to judgment. But again, multiple offenses over a period of time, you are putting yourself in the wrong position. And it reflects poorly.”

Comments

Add a Comment