2008 Woodie Awards
Tony's Time Out: NFL Penalties off the field
Tony Patrico
Issue date: 8/23/07 Section: Sports
The National Football League is making front pages for all the wrong reasons. A league that has been known for its elite competition, the most watched television sporting event in the country, and of course, the overall fan-ship of the NFL, has been recently making headlines that may tarnish the leagues image.
Tracing back to what seems like the Stone Age, the NFL has been a topic of controversial conversations. Problems with drugs, violence, attitude, animal abuse, domestic disputes, theft and performance-enhancing drugs have surrounded many sports, most recently the NFL.
It would take a full issue of a literary magazine to dissect every individual legal problem that has been an issue in the league, but when selecting a choice few the overall problems can be seen.
First to mind is the story of Michael Irvin. During a birthday party celebration, police interrupted the party finding cocaine, marijuana and two exotic dancers. Irvin threatened one of the dancers. Irvin pleaded no contest and in a plea bargain it was said for him to pay a $10,000 fine, four-years of probation and 800 hours of community service.
The former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and current television analyst admitted his mistake and was forgiven by the people of the NFL and the fans of the league, but in the past few years Irvin has been walking the line again by getting arrested in 2005 for a similar offense.
Illegal substance problems have been around the league for a long time. The league's discipline programs have increased in severity but athletes seem to still abuse the policies and cause problems year in and year out.
Adam "Pacman" Jones has caused enough problems in his short career that seeing him on a football field in the future is a very slim possibility. His late night altercation at a gentlemen's club where members of his entourage open fired into a crowd, not to mention Pacman's physical abuse on a female dancer. Where is he now? While serving his one year suspension as handed out by the league, Pacman has entered into the world of wrestling, and made his exit during his first match on a stretcher.
Tracing back to what seems like the Stone Age, the NFL has been a topic of controversial conversations. Problems with drugs, violence, attitude, animal abuse, domestic disputes, theft and performance-enhancing drugs have surrounded many sports, most recently the NFL.
It would take a full issue of a literary magazine to dissect every individual legal problem that has been an issue in the league, but when selecting a choice few the overall problems can be seen.
First to mind is the story of Michael Irvin. During a birthday party celebration, police interrupted the party finding cocaine, marijuana and two exotic dancers. Irvin threatened one of the dancers. Irvin pleaded no contest and in a plea bargain it was said for him to pay a $10,000 fine, four-years of probation and 800 hours of community service.
The former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and current television analyst admitted his mistake and was forgiven by the people of the NFL and the fans of the league, but in the past few years Irvin has been walking the line again by getting arrested in 2005 for a similar offense.
Illegal substance problems have been around the league for a long time. The league's discipline programs have increased in severity but athletes seem to still abuse the policies and cause problems year in and year out.
Adam "Pacman" Jones has caused enough problems in his short career that seeing him on a football field in the future is a very slim possibility. His late night altercation at a gentlemen's club where members of his entourage open fired into a crowd, not to mention Pacman's physical abuse on a female dancer. Where is he now? While serving his one year suspension as handed out by the league, Pacman has entered into the world of wrestling, and made his exit during his first match on a stretcher.
Be the first to comment on this story