DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Stallworth suspended for 2009 season

NFL players are held to a higher standard just like teachers, firefighters, policemen, etc. Not sure why you can't comprehend that. If he drove drunk and killed somebody, working in any of the positions I mentioned, he would be fired. He should consider himself lucky.

Quote:

---

This is not about punishment, this is about why does a man feel he is better than America.

---

I still don't get your argument and how you place it entirely on Goodell. The player conduct policy is laid out clear as day in their contracts and always has been. The player chose to break that rule and now has to live with the consequences. The main killed someone and only has to go away for a year, that is all. Not a bad deal at all.

There is a certain forum that I visit that I cannot state where I work. I work in the only industry that you can temporarily rig several tons of gear over your head and expect you to perform under it without a worry or even a thought about it. I can't say where I work because if I give some advice and some amateur mis-interprets it and an accident occurs, the blame could be placed onto me. My employer, just like most others on that site have a strict policy against stating where you work. The simple reason is: Liability. I literally could lose my job and my graduate tuition waiver for good over simply stating where I work. It is not a classified job but just a simple fact of liability. Just the mere chance of my advice killing someone makes me lose it for good.

Stallworth on the other hand DID PERSONALLY kill someone and is only suspended from work for a year. He has the same options that I would have now, find another job. The only difference is he has the opportunity to go back to work in a year after actually killing someone. I don't have that opportunity and all I did was mention where it is that I actually, currently work.

It is just simple rules. If you like your job, then follow them. If you don't care, then by all means go crazy. He decided it was a great idea to drink, smoke, and then drive because he got hungry. He must now live with the consequences that he must face as was clearly defined in his contract and the collective bargaining agreement. Just the same, I'd have to face those same consequences if I told people where I work on that particular forum.

Bottom line is it is a part of their contract; just like it is a part of mine. If you decide to break those rules that were clearly defined when you signed on, then you must face the consequences of such actions.

Besides, you are talking as if this is the first commish to hand out personal conduct suspensions when that is not the case at all.

Another article and letter from Goodell

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/08/13/dont ... -season%2F

Donte' Stallworth Suspended for Entire 2009 NFL Season
Posted Aug 13, 2009 10:04AM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)


Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth has been suspended without pay for the entire 2009 season as a result of his guilty plea to DUI manslaughter. The NFL announced the punishment Thursday, one day shy of four months after Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian named Mario Reyes while driving drunk.

Stallworth will be reinstated after the Super Bowl of 2010. He may not participate in any league or team activities until then.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodell said the following in a letter to Stallworth that was released by the NFL:
As you recognized both at and following the hearing, guilt or innocence as a matter of criminal law is not the same as a violation of NFL policies. Here, longstanding league policies make clear that discipline is warranted "if a player is convicted of or admits to a violation of the law...relating to the use of alcohol." The degree of discipline may take into account "aggravating circumstances, including but not limited to felonious conduct or felonious injury or death of third parties..." All of those factors are present here. There is no question that your actions had tragic consequences to an innocent man and his family, and that you have violated both the Substances of Abuse and Personal Conduct Policies. In that respect, you are clearly guilty of conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL. ...

Nor do I find that the outcome in the Florida courts is controlling in terms of determining disciplinary consequences within the NFL. The considerations that applied in Florida, particularly with respect to criminal standards of proof, claims of contributory negligence, consideration of crowded court dockets, and the like, do not enter into this decision. Without regard to the merits of the disposition of the criminal case, I believe that further consequences are necessary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The punishment is yet another statement by Goodell that he will deal more harshly with players who misbehave off the field than his predecessors have. In 1999, Rams defensive end Leonard Little was suspended for eight games after he killed a woman while driving drunk.

Stallworth was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he plead guilty and was released from jail after serving 24 days of that sentence. He has also been given a lifetime suspension of his driver's license, two years' house arrest and eight years' probation. Stallworth also reached an undisclosed financial settlement with Reyes' family.

j/c...

I'm not at all shocked nor upset with the length of this sentence.

The only issue I have with the punishment is that Roger Goodell continues to arbitrarily enforce his conduct policy with little rhyme or reason. Was the ultimate outcome of Stallworth's accident tragic? Absolutely. However, it is also quite a bit more nuanced than a simple case of "drunk driver kills pedestrian". On the other side of the coin, we have players who abuse drugs, beat their wives or girlfriends, cause disturbances, and Goodell more often than not lets them off with a slap on the wrist, despite the fact that these offenders are quite cognizant of what they're doing while they're doing it.

Let me ask --

if Goodell did nothing, and Mangini or Lerner suspended Stallworth for one year for 'conduct detrimental to the team' ... would you find that to be unjust as well?

I don't know for certain...but why would an auto insurance company honor a claim stemming from a drunk driver?

I don't know either I just assumed they would up to the limits of the policy. They can't just walk away can they?

I better look at my policy! Not saying I disagree cuz I really don't know but why would they care how many DUI a drivers had in the past? If they can charge more and walk away from a drunk driver. I'd be insuring all the drunks I could find.

I asked a friend in the business and was told:

Quote:

---

Insurance companies pay these claims all of the time. Insurance policies don't contain this exclusion as it's against public policy (that is, it penalizes the innocent person who was hit by the drunk driver, not the drunk driver).

---

Heres the same article,, just a little easier to read

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2009/08/nfl_suspends_cleveland_browns_1.html#poll

Hey Moe, happy birthday.....

j/c...

Did anyone plan on him being on OUR team this year? I didn't so I don't care how long he was suspended. I don't think he'll ever play for OUR team again, so I don't care what happens to him regarding his NFL career...

I think that a suspension is appropriate and fair in this case.

I also think that the Browns will take action to recoup the bonus money they paid Stallworth as he has likely breached his contract.

I think that Stallworth handled the situation about as well as anyone could, and he acted in a stand up manner ...... but that doesn't get him a pass.

I don't think there is anyway the Browns can get that money back. It's forbidden by the CBA. Even Vick got to keep over 80% of his.

That's been my stance pretty much the entire time as well. I have a feeling that Mario Reyes would still be a dead man if Donte Stallworth was stone-cold sober that morning. Elevated BAC brings strict liability into the picture, so there isn't much he could do from a legal standpoint, but I think the totality of the scenario needs to be considered a bit more than it was when considering his league-imposed punishment.

I will say that, by all accounts, Donte has handled this thing about as well as can be expected by someone in his situation.

Although this is a pretty harsh punishment, it is required. I think that if the sentence was a lesser one, the reflection period would be cut short. Dante is a great person who made a horrible decision. I think during this suspension he will be able to reflect and grow and do some good in the community. Its an overall sad situation. Hopefully he will be able to forgive himself at some point in time and grow, but I am sure he is haunted every minute of everyday.

I do agree with you on that Toad...slightly. I was away all summer and missed most of the coverage on the incident. I got back and saw a preview for the ESPN spot and saw that not only was it a highway...but it was a divided highway with a solid concrete barrier. For him to sit there and take 100% of the blame is just wrong.


However, he is a repeat offender who was already in the substance abuse program with the NFL. Regardless of who was at fault, the bottom line is he was arrested for drunk driving as a felony charge. He also tested positive for marijuana....which was a repeat offense in the NFL for him. Because of these two factors, he does have to take some of the blame for killing a man....I just don't agree that he is 100% responsible for it. All of these offenses on top of each other do add up to an appropriate suspension.

Look at Odell Thurman for example. He has also failed two drug tests and is suspended indefinitely right now. He had a few other run in's with the law but his offenses almost match up pound for pound with Stallworths. DUI, and possibly two failed drug tests. The only real difference is Dante actually killed a man. Odell only got into a couple of fight in between.

I can't find anything that states exactly why Dante was in the substance abuse program but he was in it. As such, he has to pay the penalties as a repeat offender.

Isn't it four games for a second offense with "drugs of abuse" ?

My only contention when comparing this to guys who get into trouble for stuff like starting fights or abusing their significant others is that they know exactly what they're doing and choose to put themselves in those situations, and that makes their offenses just as egregious, even if the outcome might not be as inherently tragic. A battered woman is just as much a victim as a casualty in an automobile accident.