On Pryor’s Suspension: Hate To Say ‘I Told You So.’
It was announced today that Terrelle “Don’t Forget the E” Pryor would be eligible for the supplemental draft happening on August 22nd. It was also announced that Pryor would be suspended for the first five games of the season (excluding preseason games and practices). What the what? I’m no Pryor fan for his bullshit antics in the NCAA, but to suspend a guy for five games before even going into the league? Let’s just hop right over all the Big Ben comparisons going on through Twitter. Goodell has gone off the deep end on this one – even with Ben’s suspension out of the loop. And well… I hate to say I told you so.
Before the CBA was ratified there were a few things that needed to be hashed out between the two sides. One of the glaring things for players was whether or not Roger Goodell should have sole power of the fines and suspensions policy. Even though many vocally expressed that this was not their preference, the NFLPA voted in a lopsided result to ratify the CBA without that section being addressed. Only the Steelers, as a united team, voted against ratifying the CBA. Their reason? Because Goodell had this unilateral power to dish out fines and suspensions as he pleased. It’s burned the team before, most recently with James Harrison last season, and they fully knew the implications of what it could mean for the future. Especially since it feels like there’s a target as big as Point State Park on their backs.
I 100% agreed with Ryan Clark as he made representative statements about how the team was against allowing Goodell to continue being the Judge Dredd of the NFL. And now it seems that those premonitions of ill decisions are coming to the forefront. Pryor is being suspended because of his threat to the integrity of the league. No crime has been committed (unless you are in Texas and this kind of thing is a felony). No person has been physically injured. He broke a bunch of rules created by the NCAA. He accepted gifts, cash, etc. He would have been punished by the NCAA should he have stayed at Ohio State. But, he would have been punished as a college athlete, not a human being and not a NFL player. Sure Pryor is a d-bag for willingly accepting these gifts. And screw you if you argue, like his agent Drew “No Further Questions” Rosenhaus, that he couldn’t feed his family so that’s why he took gifts. How the hell does a car feed your family? Though the NCAA and NFL have this weird marriage, they are still completely separate entities that should not influence the other in policy creation. The NCAA is screwed up and corrupt and a total liability if you come from a program like Miami, USC, or Ohio State. They have their own mass problems to deal with… but they shouldn’t influence what happens to an incoming rookie.
Goodell is totally off his rocker for dishing out this suspension prior to Terrelle’s draft into the league. It’s sets an awful precedence for future infractions and punishments. I guess it’s not the end of the world that Goodell has this power. But for crying out loud, have some consistency in how you use it. At this rate James Harrison will be suspended for the entire season for sneezing on Joe Flacco.