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Kramer: NFL team owners ignore morality in favor of teams’ success

In April of 2014, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice threw a punch across his fiancé’s face in the elevator of a luxury casino resort, and moments later dragged her unconscious body out of the elevator. He received a two game suspension for his actions, to take place at the beginning of the 2014-15 season.

Had this suspension been maintained, Rice would be starting next weekend. He was finally suspended indefinitely last week after a surveillance video of the incident, which the league was reported to have seen months ago, was made available to the public.

The Internet exploded with resentment over the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell’s fumbling of the Ray Rice case. Anger was rampant and pervasive. Keith Olbermann called for Goodell to be fired for Rice’s laughable two-game suspension, and reports are emerging that NFL administration saw the gruesome elevator surveillance video prior to its recent release on TMZ.

Let’s be clear that Goodell has flubbed just about every major challenge that has come his way in his time as commissioner, whether it comes in the form of drug policy or player safety. But the issue is less about Goodell in the same way that problems in America can’t always be attributed to the president.

The underlying cause for the lack of punishments and suspensions for players that commit crimes is team owners’ motivation to produce better football and make money. As long as the many millions of fans keep demanding good football games and splurging on season tickets, they have little reason to change that, for now.



The league’s lethargic response to serious charges against its players is disappointing. But there is a long documented history of the players entangling themselves with the law and still being able to suit up on Sundays.

Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch just won a Super Bowl with a pending DUI charge from 2012 on his back. After his crushing 42-8 win over the Denver Broncos, he quietly settled by pleading guilty to reckless driving and is starting this season. Former Patriots defensive back Alfonzo Dennard assaulted a police officer and subsequently received a DWI. He never missed a game.

The encouraging news is that Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers was benched this Sunday after being found guilty in July of assault on his ex-girlfriend.

It’s safe to assume that the media coverage of Rice’s debacle played a part in that decision. Whether Hardy will play in the following weeks is yet to be seen. The Carolina Panthers have every opportunity to suspend him with pay until his appeal is heard on Nov. 17. But owner Jerry Richardson likely places more value in Hardy’s production on the field than he does in protecting the moral fiber of the NFL. Keeping a star lineman off the field for two months is a big risk to the team, but it would satisfy the outcries.

Rice’s case was infuriating, and Goodell will be taking the heat for it. There is a possibility he will resign if it’s proven he had seen the video prior to giving the two-game suspension, which he denies. But contrary to what his $44.2 million yearly salary would indicate, Goodell’s role is submissive to the coalition of the 32 team owners in the league.

So Goodell may resign, or he may not. It really isn’t relevant. He is mostly subservient to the decision-making power of the owners of the franchises, and those owners care about two things: delivering quality football and maintaining the financial capabilities of their organizations. Morality comes in somewhere further down the line. Keep an eye on Hardy’s status over the next few weeks and we’ll see just how far.

Phil Kramer is a sophomore finance major. His column appears weekly. You can reach him at pwkramer@syr.edu or on Twitter at@PhilipWKramer





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