Was Last Week The Worst Week In NFL History?

Has there been a worse week in the history of the NFL? I say probably not. It started out with NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, admitting that the NFL got it wrong in it’s handling of the domestic abuse situation with Ray Rice.

The original two game ban of Rice was questioned throughout all walks of society, causing the NFL to review its policy. Thus the mandatory six week ban was introduced for first offenders, with a year for repeat offenses. Why someone with a first offense should be allowed to continue playing at all, is a completely different question!

Sep 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) looks on during the second half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. The Vikings defeated the Rams 34-6. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

However, a new policy was launched even though there are pending legal cases which the NFL has yet to take action.A prime example of this is with the Carolina Panthers star, Greg Hardy. Within days of this announcement, 49ers Ray McDonald was arrested on a domestic violence charge. 49ers players have seen their fair share of NFL offices this offseason, thanks to Aldon Smith in particular. Questions remain (despite the new policy) about the measures of punishment.

League owners, meanwhile, were getting together to discuss the NFL’s drug policy and punishments handed out for those offenses. I am sure the fact that some highly visible names were banned this summer, had nothing to do with the owners decision to discuss this now, three years into an initial 10 year agreement.  Whilst dealing with this the anti was heightened somewhat when TMZ released video footage of what happened between Rice, and his then fiancee, in the elevator.

It says something that in these days of social media, the power of images is all encompassing. Despite the stories we heard and the statements that Rice and his wife had made after the events, what did we really think happened in that elevator? Did we really need to see it to be so disgusted by it?  Yet, on the strength of word alone a two game ban was deemed adequate. Now anyone who wants to, has actually seen it and their views and perceptions of the situation have changed completely. Rice was released by the Baltimore Ravens and then indefinitely suspended by the NFL.

That should be the end of that right? Turns out, the answer is no, as there appears to be evidence now that the league had a copy of this tape all along the disciplinary process.  So questions have been raised. Who had the tape? Who else saw it? What did they do with it?

These questions now require a former FBI Director to be recruited to investigate and report back on, whilst questions have even been asked in Congress.

With the Thursday night football starting for the season, things were sure to improve? Fans were finally going to be able to focus on the actual football being played, not the dark PR cloud that hanging over the NFL.

The Thursday night game was between the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting those Baltimore Ravens, which ensured all the media outlets were going to be on hand to cover the Ravens and the Ray Rice fiasco.

You may argue from a football perspective, the Ravens option to release Rice was no biggie. He certainly wasn’t the player he was in the past, and not having a Rice was unlikely to hurt them, in the same way that say the a Minnesota Vikings would be hurt if they lost Adrian Peterson!

Well, it looks like we will all find out! News broke on Friday about a new NFL scandal and the question on all of our lips was, Adrian Peterson, What The …..?

September 4, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell walks the sidelines before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

This is the same Adrian Peterson who showed such an outpouring of emotion for last year when his son died after apparently being beaten by his stepfather. During a visit from his other son, while Peterson was in Texas, he felt the need to discipline his son by hitting him with a switch. (Not being from Texas myself, I had to check this out and this would be a piece of wood from a branch of a tree.)

In most regards how a father or a mother chooses to discipline their child, is not and should not be of concern to other parties. However, I assume you have seen the pictures by now, if the extent of that discipline is severe enough to warrant a visit to the Emergency Room, then a line has probably been crossed.  In this case, reports are indicating that the doctor in attendance believe it to be, and announced it as, “child abuse,” hence the headlines we all saw.  Obviously, while legal cases are ongoing, the NFL cannot comment, but given the recent news week, Roger Goodell is going to be looked on very closely for whatever actions he chooses to take.

There may be some people who were disciplined as a child or have disciplined their own children in the same way that Peterson did. I am not here to comment on the rights or wrongs of this as a practice, as I said it really should be a parental decision and not for public discussion unless a line is crossed. Obviously Peterson felt he had to discipline the child, but has he overstepped the mark? That is for the legal process to decide now. It is unlikely that Peterson will be busy on Sundays in the coming weeks. Action will be taken by Goodell, this we can be sure of, and given the recent events it is likely to be much more than it would have been otherwise. Reports have shown that Peterson will end up in jail for some period of time.

Times have changed in the NFL. Oh, how the league must be wishing for Gronk and Johnny Manziel to go to a Vegas Pool Party now. That kind of headline is something far less severe and detrimental to the league than those that are covering the news now. As annoying as it was at the time, I bet there is even a wish for the Tim Tebow media circus to be back in the league, as the league is now looking for a more positive and refreshing news cycle. So maybe Tebow is a step too far (possibly, you heard it here first however) but given the last few weeks a lot of societal ills have invaded the NFL. An organization that is probably not in the best place to cope with these issues, however, this is where it finds itself. I can only hope that the light shined on these cases now causes extra attention to be paid to all of this.

These are real people playing the game we love, they are not fictional comic book heroes. They like us, face the trials and tribulations of life, relationship issues, breakups, and like us they sometimes get things wrong. Their celebrity status does not and should not mean they are above the law. By highlighting some of these cases maybe we all might benefit in how we as a culture move forward, how we treat each other, I can only hope and pray so.

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