I would like to start this off by giving massive kudos to Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the NFL, for his actions regarding Ben Roethlisberger. As I'm sure everybody has heard, Big Ben was being charged for raping a girl in Georgia and in Lake Tahoe. These charges were later dropped because the "victim wished to avoid court proceedings." But, as we have learned of late, Roger Goodell doesn't need a guilty verdict to sit you down.
Roethlisberger was suspended, today, for 6 games!!! 6!!! Again, kudos to Goodell for the consistency. It would have been incredibly easy for him to bow to the popularity of Ben, knowing that he is a huge name in the sport that is a household name. I mean, that kind of thing happens in the NHL all the time. Goodell has made it clear, with a variety of players, it is a privilege to be in the NFL, and if I see your name in any kind of publicity that makes the NFL look bad, you will pay for it. He doesn't care who you are, and I applaud Goodell for that.
So what do the Steelers do now? Do they just deal with the suspension and hope that a back up will help them weather the storm? Do you trade him? Do you cut him? From what it sounds like, according to the ESPN article above, it seems as if the Steelers are looking into the possibility of trading Roethlisberger in hopes of getting themselves up in the top 10 picks of the draft. I don't know what I would do, but again, allow me just continue to voice exactly how much I appreciate the fact that Roger Goodell has made it clear he hold all players, not just the thugs, to the same precedent. This is something that is long over due. Now the players know that they have to earn their ridiculously high salaries both on the field, and off!
Umm... wasn't Michael Vick suspended "indefinitely" for dog fighting? So... torture dogs - suspended indefinitely. Rape a woman - 6 games. I like dogs and everything... but come on!
ReplyDeleteWell, dog fighting is a federal offense, and he was convicted of it and in jail for a year anyways.
ReplyDeleteGoodell said in his press conference about it that a lot of the facts of the case are in question, but the fact that he was in that type of a situation reflects poorly on him and on the NFL, and that's what the suspension was for. Had there been concrete evidence, as there was with Vick, I'm sure there would have been a more severe suspension.