San Francisco 49ers: Creating Controversy from NFL Inconsistencies
The past few months have been pretty bad for the National Football League, haven’t they? Controversy, both on and off the field, have reigned supreme among headlines for the league. Their handling of a lot of situations doesn’t make matters any easier for them.
There’s Ndamukong Suh, who stomped his way to a huge contract with the Miami Dolphins. He stepped on Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers‘ leg while he lay on the ground in week 17 last year, but whether it was intentional or not is for you to decide. He was initially suspended, but after an appeal, the suspension was lifted because the NFL has a loophole that says if you don’t act like a knucklehead for 32 games, you can act like a knucklehead and not be punished, save a small fine. Those probably aren’t the legal terms, though.
There’s the Dez Bryant “catch”, which wasn’t a catch because Bryant didn’t count 10 Mississippi’s and yell “ready or not, here I come!” before making a move to the end zone. The NFL “changed” that rule, but in actuality didn’t change anything about the rule.
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And while on the subject of Bryant, there was a video tape that was sure to ruin his career when the NFL got their hands on it. Adam Schefter never saw it, but did say it existed. The NFL, on the other hand, said the tape doesn’t exist, and the rumor has since been forgotten. Who to believe in this scenario? Your guess is as good as anyone’s.
Then there’s “DeflateGate“, or the curious case of Tom Brady‘s under-inflated balls. Footballs. Get your mind out of the gutter. It took the NFL, and their investigator Ted Wells, more than three months to come up with it’s “more probable than not” that Brady had “at least general knowledge”. Pretty damning stuff, ain’t it?
We also have Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and so many countless others that have been in trouble, and the NFL has fumbled their handling of the situation time and time again.
That brings everything back to the San Francisco 49ers, and their former defensive end Ray McDonald. His case, and another case very similar to his were handled in completely different ways, and it’s almost maddening to watch the NFL try and figure out the right way to do things.
McDonald was arrested on August 31st of last year under the suspicion of domestic violence. At the time, the NFL didn’t suspend him, and he was allowed to play for the 49ers, appearing in 14 games for them.
Former Carolina Panthers’ defensive end Greg Hardy (now with the Dallas Cowboys) was arrested on the same charges, suspicion of domestic violence. Hardy played in the first game of the season, but afterwards, was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, where he remained for the rest of the season, unable to play.
After legal battles, both players had their charges dropped. No action was taken against McDonald by the league, and it wasn’t until he came under suspicion again, this time for sexual assault, did he receive any form of punishment. The 49ers were the ones to take action, as they released McDonald.
McDonald is now with the Chicago Bears, and has yet to receive a suspension from the league offices. On the other hand, Hardy has been suspended for the first 10 games of 2015.
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What makes these two cases hugely different? Why is Hardy basically being suspended for 25 games, 78 percent of two seasons, while McDonald only missed time because his team took the initiative? Why does the same legal result mean two radically different NFL results?
The truth is, it seems as if there is no rhyme or reason to what the NFL does regarding punishments. Commissioner Roger Goodell seems to pretty much make things up as he goes along. You can attempt to injure opposing players while they’re lying on the ground, but don’t do it again for two seasons or you might get in trouble. You can punch a woman, clear as day on camera, and the league will suspend you for two games and say “uh, we didn’t know there was a video.”
The NFL is dealing with these bad eggs more than any other league, and they are setting an awful precedent. The suspensions Goodell has handed down are equivalent to Major League Baseball’s Commissioner Rob Manfred suspending one player 25 games for using a PED, and suspending the next guy 80 games for the same infraction.
Something has to be changed for the NFL. The actual game played on the field is taking a backseat to the legal troubles that the league’s employees find themselves in over and over again. The punishments aren’t helping. Some people can get away with things while others are made examples out of. The game may be changing, making a move towards safety on the field, but what about off of it?
The NFL is nothing if not inconsistent.