When has the NFL ever passed on commenting when their players get into trouble? The league since under the stewardship of Commissioner Roger Goodell has acted swiftly and always ready to pass judgment on its players that get arrested. Evidently, the NFL has a different standard for the management of their teams.

Recently, two executives for the Denver Broncos, Matt Russell and Tom Heckert were arrested for DUI. In Heckert’s  case, the Broncos tried to keep his June 11th arrest under wraps until the Associated Press blew the cover. NFL spokesman, Greg Aiello is leaving comment in both cases up to the Broncos. The same Broncos that allegedly attempted to sweep the incidents under the rug.

When it comes to marijuana, the NFL has a firm and consistent protocol to deal with players that get caught or test positive for that drug. They are subject to fines or suspensions. In September of 2010, Braylon Edwards was charged with DUI and was permitted to play football the following Sunday. When I contacted an NFL official to see what their policy was for Players caught with a DUI offense, I was told that they don’t have a connection with the State and Federal laws against DUI. The NFL decides their own punishment policies.

DUI is the most prevalent crime NFL players become involved in, yet there is reluctance for Goodell to crack down on this problem, which since taking the mantra of the tough, new sheriff in town when he took the job in 2007, appears out of character. What’s needed to thwart the DUI plague in the NFL is to cut a convicted player from the team on the grounds that the NFL players are held in high esteem by teenagers in the U.S. and cannot appear to accept the crime of drunk driving, one of the main causes of youthful deaths in America.

Doris Aiken, RID President