After Donald Sterling’s racist behavior was exposed to the world, the NBA moved swiftly to ban him from the league.
Sure, Los Angeles Clippers Forced Sale Stirling became even richer, but sent a clear signal that such behavior would not be tolerated.
Then there’s the NFL, which seems content to let bad boy owners slip with just a slap on the wrist, no matter how bad the attack is.
Are you falsifying some of the game’s biggest names? Are you suggesting that it’s a good idea to deliberately lose the game?
Says League, who likes to throw the word “integrity” at every opportunity, unless it’s really important.
In the eyes of Commissioner Roger Goodell, a few mandatory vacations, a fine roughly worth a couch change, and surrendering a few draft picks should be enough to keep things rolling.
That’s exactly what Goodell imposed this week As for Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, his actions were so reckless that they wouldn’t have pushed him out the door — or at least not given him a gentle nudge. was.
Of course, in a version of the news dump just before the weekend, the NFL brilliantly revealed its lawsuit against Ross. Six-game suspension for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct during massage.
The NFL could have appealed and asked Goodell for a harsher and more appropriate punishment, but he hesitantly handed it over. to an outside arbitrator.
Watson’s case is bad enough. Ross’ prank was also outrageous.
But Goodell wants us all to come out of a week of disturbing revelations to get to what really matters: the season, which conveniently kicked off Thursday night. Hall of Fame Exhibition Game in Canton, Ohio.
don’t be careful To that man behind the curtain!
Spoken by the great and mighty Komish!!
It’s now clear to everyone that Goodell can’t take integrity lightly as long as the league’s coffers (and his own) continue to grow at a much faster rate than rapid inflation.
Indeed, he takes action when a player who hasn’t been with his team all season dares to venture into a casino app and make a legal bet on an NFL game. And don’t worry about cashing large numbers of checks with no problem.
Calvin Ridley’s bet led to his suspension for at least the 2022 season, which he quickly admitted without suggesting it would affect the game That means the Atlanta Falcons receiver won’t stand a chance at his $11.1 million annual salary until he’s back.
Compare that to Ross’s case.
Goodell issued a harsh statement, singled out for “unprecedented scope and serious transgression,” but showed in his decisive action that he actually had no stomach to back up his words.
Sure, the Dolphins would be hurt by the loss of a first-round pick next year and a third-round pick in 2024, but the rest of the sanctions were laughable.
Ross was fined $1.5 million. That’s about 0.018% of an estimated net worth of $8.2 billion, which is a small percentage compared to the salary Ridley doesn’t receive. Ross has also been suspended from his team until October 17th. That means he will miss the first six games of the regular season, at least 11 less than Ridley’s ouster.
Somehow, Goodell has been able to justify his punishment imbalance — perhaps because his mind is filled with nothing but dollar signs — the league says Ross is a seven-time Super Bowl winner. Despite being determined to have improperly negotiated with Tom Brady and former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton… when they were working for other teams.
“I don’t know of a team over the years that has violated the ban on tampering with both a head coach and a star player, potentially to the detriment of multiple other clubs,” Goodell said. “Likewise, I have never known an instance where ownership was so directly involved in a violation.”
The league’s investigation, which began when former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a racism lawsuit after he was fired, found that Los Angeles would deliberately lose one game in order for Miami to get a better place in the draft. Flores’ accusation of offering him $100,000 was more ambiguous.
The league found that Ross did not follow through on the alleged offer, but has stated several times that draft position should take precedence over win-loss record.
Goodell — remember, he’s the guy who, in Ridley’s case, was very concerned with the integrity of the game — seems to have completely wiped out Ross’ clear belief that tanking isn’t a bad thing. Letter to team leaders.
Flores, now an assistant to the Pittsburgh Steelers, noted that Ross avoided a “meaningful outcome” — and he sounded like he was mocking Goodell here — of the game.
Of course, Flores, or anyone who has paid any attention to the Goodell administration, should have known that Ross would pull it off.
Look no further than Washington Owner Dan Snyder has faced numerous allegations of a toxic work environment without serious punishment.
In a league that truly embraces integrity, Snyder is already out the door and Ross isn’t far behind.
But Goodell is sending a different message.
Are you ready for soccer?!
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Paul Newbery is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry(at)ap.org or https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963.
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