Monday saw the closing (pending some final legal wrangling) of one of the most embarrassing chapters of the RIDERS and the CFL. Trevis Smith was sentenced to 5 ½ years plus an additional 6 months for violations of various related to his promiscuities with women without disclosing that he was positive for HIV.
This story begs to be debated further in the overall context of professional football. There are two stories from ESPN, one by Jemele Hill “The Pacman Jones Rule is overdue” and one by Bomani Jones “Can't the NFL police itself?” debating the merits of sanctions or policing of the NFLPA.
Jemele’s angle is the embarrassment of certain acts perpetrated by certain individuals like Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson. These acts have finally pushed the league to the point where both the players and the league want to seek a solution. This line from here story shows you just how far it has gone:
"They care … that we're all painted with the same brush," Gene Upshaw, head of the NFL players' union, told the Los Angeles Times. "Ninety percent is doing the right thing, and we've got 10 percent that's not."
I realize that the NFL and NFLPA have one of the healthiest relationships in professional sports as they both realize the immediate impact in dollar value that this public relations fiasco can have. However it is amazing that they are willing to admit that there is a problem and that potentially they need to have a policy in place that could remove players from their membership, which for most unions is strictly a no-no.
Bomani Jones takes the angle, why is the NFL looking to police blotters to decide when and if a player should be reprimanded. He argues, with a slap of hypocrisy to the NFL, that every team in the NFL has more information on the individual then any potential employer would of any new employee. Jones points to the Rams when they drafted Lawrence Phillips and did not commit a large signing bonus just in case. Although not a great situation as the Rams were still willing to employee an individual with strong criminal leanings even it might backfire. However putting the onus on the individual and the individual is the only person who can make the change.
This brings us back to Smith and the RIDERS. Smith was part of the overwhelming amount of pure talent that was brought in by Shivers, however there was one key ingredient that was missing in all the talent and that was character. That missing ingredient will kill the winning that a talented team could achieve and it most often goes beyond the boundaries of the field.
Thierry Henry stated last summer after the Zidane incident, you can take the boy off the streets of Nice but you can’t take the streets out of the boy. Now there are many, many cases of athletes and individuals rising above there surroundings, but there are usually indicators that point to potential outcomes. Each of the individuals in the stories Chris Henry, Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones had histories that only pointed to problems.
Now I’ll admit that the juggernaut that is the NFL has more access to information then the CFL but a player that comes from the US to play in Canada will have been scouted and there is most likely enough information available without having to spend more money. So the question that we should be asking is, why were players like Smith and Keith brought to the RIDERS? To win! There is the feeling that the gamble is worth the risk, but the ends do not justify the means and that is the downfall of the Shivers and Barrett regime. They did great but forgot that in their attempt to win perhaps, and I say perhaps, they let their personal agenda’s come first rather then focusing purely on their jobs.
Unfortunately Tillman and Austin have already put the question of character on the agenda with the signing of Hakim Hill. I do believe that individuals deserve a second chance; however contracts for professional athletes need to include social responsibility clauses that are similar to any in contracts that are in private business. There are elements that are special about being a professional athlete but athletes, agents, gm’s and front office personnel need to realize that they still operate in the real world and they depend on that real world to get paid. So lets hope Hakim Hill does not disappoint and that I am not here in a few months writing a follow-up article.