Does NFL commissioner Roger Goodell have your attention now?
He suspended New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton for an entire season for his role in “Bountygate,” the program that rewarded players with money for hits intended to injure others.
Goodell suspended New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis for eight games. He’s fined him and the team $500,000 and taken away their second-round draft picks this season and next.
Unprecedented punishments.
Oh, and Goodell said former Saints and Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was the “Bountygate” boss, is banned indefinitely. The commissioner will review his status at the end of the 2012 season.
Williams may never coach in the NFL again.
So do you understand what is going on now?
Goodell sent a message to everyone that the NFL is facing its greatest problem — the concussion crisis — since its battle with the American Football League.
Desperate times require desperate measures.
Former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson put a shotgun to his chest a little more than a year ago and shot himself, leaving a note saying he wanted his brain to be donated to science.
When researchers cut open Duerson’s brain, they found the same thing they had discovered in other NFL players who died prematurely — brain disease, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Desperate times.
There are nearly 800 former NFL players, with that number rising, who are part of lawsuits that claim they have brain damage and are charging the NFL with negligence, among other issues.
Desperate times.
The Saints have gone from being a laughingstock to one of the league’s marquee franchises. The team’s emergence in post-Katrina New Orleans has been one of the NFL’s feel-good stories. The Saints are among the league’s top sellers in merchandise.
Yet Goodell just took a wrecking ball to the franchise.
Desperate measures.
“We are all accountable and responsible for player health and safety and the integrity of the game,” Goodell said in a statement announcing the punishments.
“We will not tolerate conduct or a culture that undermines those priorities. No one is above the game or the rules that govern it. Respect for the game and the people who participate in it will not be compromised.
“A combination of elements made this matter particularly unusual and egregious.
When there is targeting of players for injury and cash rewards over a three-year period, the involvement of the coaching staff, and three years of denials and willful disrespect of the rules, a strong and lasting message must be sent that such conduct is totally unacceptable and has no place in the game.”
This is about more than player safety. They paid lip service to that notion for years, the players included.
This is all about liability. Goodell’s “Bountygate” punishments, as well as the game of football itself, will be put on trial in courtrooms across America.
Does he have your attention now?
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
