Goodell and the NFL Need to Act Now on Vick and Burress

All eyes of the fans and the sports media are on Roger Goodell this week as the NFL Commissioner prepares to rule on two more players who’ve run afoul of the law.

Earlier this week Goodell suspended Donte’ Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns indefinitely following the wide receiver’s guilty plea to DUI manslaughter.

That decision was virtually automatic by the commissioner’s office – not because Stallworth accidentally killed someone while driving drunk and stoned on marijuana, but because the Florida judge who presided over the case sentenced him to only 30 days in jail (really 26, with four days served already).

After agreeing to a hefty financial settlement with the victim’s family, Stallworth skated on a legitimate and appropriate prison sentence and walked away, pretty much, a free man. The sports world, and probably all of society, was livid with the outcome of the case and screamed “unfair” at another wealthy athlete buying his way of trouble.

So Goodell had to come down hard on Stallworth to appease the angry fans and show the sports world that the NFL will not tolerate that kind of reckless and irresponsible behavior.

Message sent and message received.

So now Goodell has to rule on two more NFL misfits who are involved in legal issues, Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress.

Both Vick’s and Burress’ legal situations had developed long before Stallworth’s, yet no official word from the league regarding the two has been released.

It’s a little puzzling why Goodell still hasn’t decided publicly on either of these two situations. Vick, the former Falcons QB, has recently completed his prison sentence for dog fighting (and other infractions) and has no more legal issues hanging over him.

Burress has yet to be sentenced for illegally carrying and discharging a firearm, but there’s no issue or doubt regarding the former Giants WR’s guilt. The only unknown with Burress is just how long he’ll have to spend behind bars.

So in each of these player’s cases, there’s no question they’ll have to suffer some type of repercussion from the league. So as the NFL community anxiously awaits the verdict, the big question is – what is Goodell waiting for?

When Goodell took over as NFL Commissioner in September 2006 he inherited a league riddled with players involved in criminal and gang activity. The NFL had tremendous image problems caused by players not only running into trouble with the law but receiving very little punishment, if any, as a result.

Fans and the media had had enough and had grown very cynical of the league’s ability to police its own players and properly discipline them.

But Goodell came into office and immediately tackled the NFL’s image problems and, on the heels of the Pac Man Jones and Chris Henry scandals, instituted a “Personal Conduct Policy.” The policy gives the Commissioner a wider net and more power and discretion to discipline its players.

But an important function of the policy is that is allows Goodell to act and rule much faster than a commissioner could in the past.

This is a very effective part of the policy because a quick and decisive decision tells the fans and media that the NFL, in no uncertain terms, does not tolerate criminal action!

But, uncharacteristically, Goodell has dragged his feet in the Vick and Burress cases and, as a result, has sent out a mixed message and, to some degree, diluted previous PR progress.

Regardless of one’s opinion on what the appropriate punishment for Vick and Burress should be, Goodell has to act now in order to maintain the league’s public relations messaging that the NFL is tough on players who break the law.

In some ways, the swiftness of the Commissioner’s decision regarding punishment is just as important as the punishment itself. It’s about image and messaging. When you delay a disciplinary decision you remove some of the sting and effectiveness of the punishment – public relations wise.

The buzz in the sports media world now is that Goodell will act very soon and very severely on Vick and Burress, maybe suspending each player for the entire upcoming season.

But by stalling and delaying a decision to this point, Goodell has lost some of the PR punch a swift and severe ruling would have earned the league.