NFL stiffens conduct policy, draws union criticism
Source: Tampa Bay Times
IRVING, Texas — The NFL put a new personal conduct policy for players and other employees into effect Wednesday after the unanimous ratification by the league's 32 owners.
The policy, which takes initial disciplinary rulings in cases of misconduct away from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell but leaves him in charge of hearing and resolving any appeals of such decisions, comes after the league was heavily criticized in recent months for its handling of the high-profile legal cases of several players, including Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson.
"The policy is comprehensive," Goodell said. "It is strong. It is tough. And it is better for everyone associated with the NFL. I have stated it many times: Being part of the NFL is a privilege. It is not a right. The measures adopted today uphold that principle."
The new policy goes into immediate effect, NFL chief counsel Jeff Pash said. The implementation of the revised policy drew sharp criticism from the NFL Players Association.
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Steinberg: The Character Draft NFL 2015.
The era of character has arrived.
The next group of prospective NFL Draft prospects and veteran free agents will be the most heavily scrutinized athletes ever.
Character and personal issues will take on a foremost role in making draft decisions. The Aaron Hernandez, Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson cases sent a shivering chill through coaching staffs and front offices across the league. Teams will be hyperagressive in ensuring that the players they select do not have conduct that puts a season or franchise reputation in question.
The salary cap plays a critical role here. The cap deprives a team of the room to have high draft picks and valuable veterans as backups to starters. This means that when a talented starter is taken off a team's active list for personal conduct — his cap space is frozen. The team has no real ability to go out and sign an equivalent player. It is not a matter of financial wherewithal, it is dead cap space. Even if they could find a replacement available, they can't sign him. For a team in the playoff hunt the spectrum of off-field behavior destroying their chances has raised major anxiety.
Teams will use their own personnel and outside investigators to delve deep into an athlete's past — from grade school to the present. They will conduct interviews with coaches, friends, teachers, law enforcement to look for red flags. The players will be re-interviewed over and over again on questionable behavior during scouting. <snip>
So a young player with a "questionable behavior" will be offered far less than he's worth in the draft. Even if the "questionable behavior" was at 12 years old.
