With all of the controversy surrounding professional and amateur sports today, league officials are becoming stricter with their fines, penalties, and suspensions. With a referee betting scandals in the NBA, an Olympic track star admitting to using performance enhancing drugs, and the steroid craze in MLB, why should the NFL be any different or its’ players? Commissioner Goodell has issues out plenty of fines and suspensions to players this year, one in particular, Adam “Pacman” Jones of the Tennessee Titans. The trouble-filled player, who was suspended for the entire season, recently met with the commissioner to have his suspension be reduced. After having his request denied, Jones along with the NFL Players Association are appealing the decision made by Goodell. With a product to protect and an image to uphold, Goodell is justified in refusing to shorten the suspension.
As leagues are becoming more corporate than sport-entertainment, their image becomes more and more important. With million dollar sponsorships and licensing agreements, there is less room for nonsense in this never-ending quest for profit and gain. Commissioners have to show sponsors that they are committed to protecting the overall product, rather than a particular player. No one man is ever bigger than the game, so why does Pacman feel he may be? Jones has caused brought nothing but bad publicity to himself, his team, and the league ever since he was drafted back in 2005. Though he has never been arrested, he has had his shared of run-ins with the law.
With the NFL planning to take its game global, it first has to clean up things at home. You can’t take a league full of problems from one country to another. Goodell is doing all he can to bring down the law onto these players and he has to continue to remain firm and support the decisions that he is making. Pacman was suspended for a year, I am not saying that I agree or disagree with the suspension, but the point is that he has to take his punishment and deal with it. He has to be grown enough to see what’s in front of his is much bigger than himself. He needs the league more than the league needs him. With American being the capitalist society that it is, there is always a man willing to replace you for a little less if need be, so Pacman needs to wakeup and grow up. Goodell is a man on a mission and no one will get in his way.
The league of superstars has only one real star, Commissioner Roger Goodell. With money on his mind and a global market in sight, players are going to have to shape up or ship out. The world is bigger than the NFL and Goodell knows it. He wants what’s best for the league not for one or two players. With moves in mind to improve the speed and competitiveness of the game, Goodell has innovative plans for the league. So Adam “Pacman” Jones, before you and the NFLPA plan to appeal a decision that has already been made, maybe you should take a look at your track record and then that of the man you are going against. You can’t honestly think that you deserve to be reinstated early. Take some of your cash from your club fund and read up on some literature about the future moves of the league, and maybe you will see what a good thing you are messing up because like a man possessed, Roger Goodell is on a mission and this mission has is in full effect.
2 comments:
I think Roger Goodell has done an excellent job in his attempt to both clean up the league and expand it into new markets. He is on "a mission" and I like where he is heading. I also believe that he has handled the Adam "Pacman" Jones situation quite well and that no player should be subject to special privileges. There is no room anymore for poor behavior and it only seems to get in the way. However, I am sure Goodell will continue to lead the NFL in a positive direction.
I agree. I think Goodell is doing an excellent job enforcing rules and that it is something the league needs. I also think this is good because it is serving as a warning and hopefully a deterrent for other players' behavior.
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