Armour: NFL not helping anyone by dragging its feet
No detail is too small for the NFL, which micromanages everything from the color of a player's cleats to the length of the Super Bowl halftime show.
Yet two months after that appalling Ray Rice video went public, the NFL still doesn't have a plan for what to do if one of its players is accused of beating his wife, girlfriend or child. Unless you count the old policy – do little or nothing, cross its fingers and hope fans will eventually forget about it.
Suspending Rice indefinitely and mothballing Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy may have appeased disgusted fans and soothed concerned sponsors, and it gave the NFL a quick and easy way to claim it was doing something. But it was never going to be a permanent solution, and the snail's pace with which the NFL has tried to find one is further proof that, for all those experts it has consulted, the league still doesn't have a clue.
Tempting as it may be to banish Rice or Peterson or anyone else who tarnishes the NFL's image, it's simply unrealistic. People are arrested and charged with repugnant crimes every day, and they get up and go back to work the next. If the NFL is to find the right balance between consequence and compassion – as should be the goal, for the benefit of everyone involved – there has to be a clear penalty structure, as well as a consistent process for a player to return once a case has been resolved.
Because if commissioner Roger Goodell won't do it, you can be sure the players and their union will find someone who will. And they're not going to wait until the Super Bowl, the deadline by which Goodell has said a revamped personal conduct policy should be ready.
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Yet a decision on whether Rice's suspension should be lifted is expected any day now from retired U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones, who heard the case for two days last week. Peterson is going the legal route, too, after the NFL stonewalled his request for reinstatement following his plea agreement, also last week, on a child abuse charge related to Peterson whipping his 4-year-old son with a tree branch.
Like so much else about its response to the domestic violence crisis, the NFL has made finding the right answers much harder than it needs to be.
It's on the right track by placing players on the commissioner's exempt list once they're charged. Not only does it give a player the time he needs to get help and focus on his legal case, continuing to pay him means his already vulnerable family won't have the added strain of financial insecurity.
But why not go a step further and use one of those "experts" Goodell has been consulting for the last two months? Have them in contact with a player's defense attorneys throughout the duration of each case so the NFL can assess what, if any, additional penalties are necessary.
In exchange, the NFL agrees to levy that punishment as soon as a case is resolved. No waiting, no request for reinstatement, no grievance or arbitration hearings. Just a quick resolution that everyone can understand and accept.
Now this would require cooperation between Goodell and the NFLPA, something that's been in short supply lately. But it's time to set egos and grudges aside because the state of limbo that exists now isn't doing anybody any good.
A week after Peterson pleaded no contest to settle his case – the judge deferred sentencing and it won't be a conviction if Peterson stays out of trouble for two years – he's still no closer to being back on the field or even knowing when he might be. What kind of message does that send to players who might find themselves in a similar situation?
Goodell has said repeatedly that he is determined to "get it right" when it comes to the NFL's response to domestic violence. He's said little else since mid-September, actually.
As important as it is to get it right, it's equally important to get it done. Another two months is too long to wait.