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Milk and Pacman, Perfect Together

I ran out of milk last night. I know that may not be a big deal to most of you, but I like milk in my coffee in the mornings. Sure I could drink it without milk but I just like it better with milk. I was too lazy to run to the Quik-E-Mart (*nod to The Simpsons) last night so when I got up this morning, I put the coffee on and ran to the store while it was brewing. Why am I telling you all this? If it weren’t for the lack of milk, I would not have listened to the radio to hear a great statement by Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio. I don’t normally have a radio on in my house so this worked out for me well.

He said (forgive me for paraphrasing, I’m going by pre-coffee memory here) “Unions would be better off giving the most support to the top 90% of their members instead of the bottom 10% which usually get the most resources.” Interesting.

For those of you who don’t know the NFL has issued serious suspensions yesterday. Adam “Pacman” Jones of the Titans was suspended for the full 2007 season, while the Bengals’ Chris Henry was suspended for eight games. These were for numerous violations of the league’s personal conduct policy. Both players have either been arrested or interviewed by police a combined 14 times. Not Boy Scouts by any means.

The great part about these suspensions is that they are being supported not only by the teams, but the NFL Player’s Association (NFLPA) as well. Gene Upshaw, their executive director, reportedly is supporting Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner on these suspensions. Why is this important?

As Colin Cowherd alluded to this is sending a message to the NFL players by their own union boss that they need to keep the image of the NFL player a good one or they may not get the “full support” from the Union. The NFL is the most watched event on television besides American Idol. To allow that to dwindle because of a few bad apples would be a big mistake for the league and the players themselves. It’s obvious that Goodell knows it since he is the one handing out the suspensions. It’s pretty clear that Upshaw gets it too, unless he gets pressured into appealing these suspensions.

Quoting ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli from his article here:

At the annual NFL meetings two weeks ago, Kansas City coach Herm Edwards, a noted hardliner, opined that the only remedy for repeat offenders like Jones and Henry was to deprive them the opportunity to play. Not to deprive them of their paychecks, mind you, although that will also be a part of their suspensions. But to take away from them the privilege of being able to compete.

For Jones and Henry, the next several months will reveal just how much the game means to them. It is a privilege, not a right, to play in the NFL. And now it's a privilege that the two players will be forced to earn back.

Nicely put Len.

I would like to think that the other players are supporting this decision. The ones saying, “why should these guys causing problems get the same treatment as me, who does things the right way?” Hopefully this will put some fear into the “bottom 10%” of the players who are the ones who get into trouble off the field. The NFL is too good to be ruined by few.

All this because I needed milk in my coffee. Sheesh.