Player Conduct Policy to Arrive Soon

As the NFL’s Annual Meetings began today, Commissioner Roger Goodell said there would be no new player conduct policy before the end of the week But he did say that one could be expected before the Draft April 28-29. He met with the media and said: “It’s a complicated issue and there are no simple answers. We want to find out what is working well with the clubs and what is not working, get a set of best practices so they can implement them on a local basis. We’re expecting discipline will be stepped up.” Commissioner Goodell said he spoke with over 50 players about the issue and the consensus was that leadership from veterans to mentor the younger players was important. He said he supported a player advisory council that would offer such input.

The new policy can’t come soon enough. Yesterday, Carolina Panthers guard D’Anthony Batiste was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon. Then today, Las Vegas police said they would seek felony and misdemeanor charges against Pacman Jones for his involvement in a February shooting at a strip club. Until there are some harsher punishments, until a stern message is sent, these types of occurrences are sure to continue. I trust the best plan will be put into effect soon.