Wow! Commissioner Roger Goodell is not messing around. Check it out, he suspended Pacman Jones for the entire 2007 season and gave Bengal Chris Henry an eight game suspension.
"We must protect the integrity of the NFL," commissioner Roger Goodell said. "The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone in the NFL because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. These players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis."
In a letter to each player, Goodell wrote: "Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction."
The article also list conditions that Pacman and Henry must meet in order to be reinstated at the end of their suspensions. I think this is a good move by Goodell. Yes, the suspensions are very heavy, but someone had to be the scapegoat, someone had to be made an example of, because the NFL players are looking pretty bad recently. Way too many incidents over the past few years that were starting to be a drag on the NFL image. And even though it is just a handful of players compared to the majority that play in the NFL, it still taints all of them. It’s better for the league if they get a handle on this now, instead of when it’s too late.