I haven’t posted about the Ray Rice scandal for a reason. I try to keep things light, but here’s Keith Olbermann going ‘scorched Earth’ on Goodell. If I do speak about something serious, I want to have a different take on a subject.
I’m going to look through all the people and issues that we all agree are pretty horrible (Ray Rice, Roger Goodell, Atlantic City, etc.) and look at the business/union side of this issue. Ray Rice could single-handedly change the way other players are disciplined in the future…for the better.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association have been working on a new drug testing program that will allow the league to test the players for human growth hormone, but in order for that to happen, it needs to be collectively bargained (aka you get something, we get something).
The NFLPA wants two big things to happen in order for the league to start testing for HGH.
- Higher thresholds for marijuana testing & reduced suspensions
- A neutral appeal process after due process
The NFLPA priority the Ray Rice scandal affects is the latter.
If Roger Goodell just waited to get all the information about the Ray Rice case (elevator video included), this whole mess could have been avoided. Rice did get due process in court and cut a plea deal, but the prosecutor had access to the video, the NFL did not.
The NFLPA argues Goodell cannot be judge, jury and executioner when it comes to handing out suspensions…because he is also the lone person who decides on the suspension appeals. The Rice case damages his credibility and opens the door in which the NFL doesn’t have any legs to stand on.
I hope we will soon see a day in which someone with the equivalent of secondhand pot smoke in their system will not get a punished eight times greater than someone who hit a woman. Get your act together, NFL. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Follow us on Twitter @Sweetbob & ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook!
About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.