Professional Athletes getting into legal trouble is nothing new in this day and age. Someone is always getting in trouble for DUI's, Performance Enhancing Drugs, Pine tar on their glove, or a bad bar fight in the off season. Granted these aren't offenses to take lightly; and I'm already not a fan whatsoever of Roger Goodell, but the way he handles domestic violence committed by anyone in the NFL just puts the icing on the cake.
In 2014, a defensive end for the Carolina Panthers named Greg Hardy was charged with domestic violence by his ex girlfriend, Nicole Holder. After getting the allegations, his original suspension was going to be for ten games, but got it reduced to six, then to four. The Panthers had let him go, and the Dallas Cowboys signed him, regardless what was going on legally. The suspension was handed out in April 2015, which then launched a two month long investigation as to what had happened. In November 2015, pictures of Holder had been released, showing the kind of wounds Hardy had left. A year prior, early fall 2014 Ray Rice had been let go by the Baltimore Ravens, from a video being released of him knocking his now wife out cold in a hotel elevator. Roger Goodell, the league's commissioner, wanted to take a stand and learn more about prevention. But, the original suspension of ten games had been lowered to four. He served his suspension, and really did not get much reprehension after that. That's how you want to "create more prevention"? these women or children or both are getting abused, and you hand them a four game suspension and just say don't do it again. But, when Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots tampers with the psi in the footballs before a game, he gets a full blown court case, his suspension overturned for the 2015-16 season, then he now has to serve his suspension, fined thousands of dollars, is the reason the team lost their first round draft pick, and it isn't hidden well that Goodell has a vendetta against Brady and the whole Patriots organization, from what I have seen since Spygate 2007. He was quite close with Robert Kraft, the General Manager, and Bill Bellicheck, the team's head coach.What bothers me about this is that he has spent more time and money worrying about Tom Brady and the tampering of footballs, than worrying about domestic abusers playing in the league he heads. Goodell is more worried about "getting back" for whatever the Pats organization did to him, than serious criminals that could kill someone if they get mad enough. It kills me to know that we have domestic abusers running rampid, and all he does is just say that the league as a whole should "be more aware". America as a nation should take domestic violence more seriously, and the NFL isn't helping.
Yes, I love football. Yes, I love the men who play in it (most of them). What I do not like is grown adults, men in this case, not being held accountable for their actions that lands them in serious legal hot water, and the commissioner giving BS excuses for their short suspensions. The league as a whole needs to keep these athletes accountable for their actions. I don't even like Tom Brady in the slightest, but to hassle him over defalted balls more than multiple men who have beat their wives/girlfriends/children? This is ridiculous. All that I am asking for is the league to enforce harsher punishments on the athletes who do this. Whether it's a coach, a player, a ref, anything.
