The Wrath of Roger Goodell

By Austin Amoroso

Last time I checked, this is America, the land of the free. The land where all criminals from jaywalkers to murderers are given their day in court. They are innocent until proven guilty. People don't get punished unless they are found guilty by a jury of their peers.

Unfortunately, though, that doesn’t hold true in the court of public opinion where only an accusation is needed to brand someone for the rest of his life.

You only have to look back at the last sports-related criminal accusation, the debacle that was the Duke men’s lacrosse rape case. In the court of public opinion, those three men were tried and convicted of raping a stripper at a party. But finally, almost two years later, the real court ran its course and found out that they did nothing wrong. Those men lost a year of their lives and who knows how much else as a result of one woman’s pettiness. An entire nation was too eager to jump to conclusions and didn't bother waiting until all the facts and evidence were presented.

So is the case for Michael Vick. Vick, according to a federal indictment, has ties to a dog fighting ring operated out of a house he owns in Virginia. But did he engage in said fights? Did he fund the Bad Newz Kennels? Was he even aware that it was going on at the property?

Maybe. But Maybe not.

Therein lies the problem with Commissioner Roger Goodell’s “suspension” of Michael Vick. Now, Goodell hasn’t really suspended Vick, but he has ordered him not to report to the Falcons’ training camp. And you’d have to be a halfwit not to know that a lengthy suspension is coming for Vick. And coming before he’s tried or (maybe) proven guilty in court.

Goodell is going to determine the future of Vick’s career in the NFL, but there is no specific timetable for that decision. Except that it will happen "as soon as possible".

"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies, including the personal conduct policy," Goodell wrote Vick in a letter, according to an NFL statement.

So, the question is, exactly what part of the personal conduct policy did Vick violate? Unfortunately for guys like Vick, Pacman Jones and Chris Henry, Goodell has the power of interpretation. He can use the now very strict personal conduct policy to determine a case as he sees fit.

Under the persons charged with criminal activity heading of the conduct policy, which it would seem applies to Vick at this point (even though he hasn't even been charged yet), it states:

“Any Covered Person arrested for or charged with conduct prohibited by this policy will be required to undergo an immediate, mandatory clinical evaluation and, if directed, appropriate counseling.”

But that’s not what has, or will, happen to Vick. He is going to be suspended and lose a lot of money as a result of this accusation, or maybe, only as a result of him associating himself with the wrong people. But Goodell, or any policer of an organization, has no right to determine who a person hangs out with outside of work.

Now, let’s make this perfectly clear. I in no way condone, support or engage in electrocuting, hanging or beating dogs to death, or dog fighting in general for that matter. But Vick is going to be a victim of Goodell’s wrath.

The difference between Jones and Vick is that Vick isn’t an idiot. He doesn’t feel the need to make it rain at a strip club the night before he’s due to meet with Goodell to discuss his actions. Vick has generally been a stand-up guy since he left Blacksburg for Atlanta.

Goodell had to make a statement with the Jones incident. And he did. But now it should be interesting to see what he does with Vick, a money-making machine for the NFL. And if Jones was suspended for an entire season, the same likely will happen to Vick.

But Goodell, while he should be commended for trying to clean up the NFL, oversteps his boundaries. Whether or not Vick is convicted of these crimes, his life is going to change significantly. And change for the worse. The amount of money he is going to lose over this incident, thanks to organizations like PETA, is immeasurable.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank can do what he wants with Vick, he signs the checks. But Goodell shouldn't decide Vick's future until he's proven to have committed the crime. He has no right to decide how the Falcons should handle the situation until then. But unfortunately that’s exactly what he’s going to do.