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Taking a stand against violence League adopts broader 'personal conduct policy'
Posted: Tuesday May 23, 2000 09:27 PM
By Don Banks, Sports Illustrated BALTIMORE -- Following more than two months of internal debate on how to react to the outbreak of violent crime and player misconduct within its ranks, the NFL on Tuesday, as expected, adopted measures designed to be more persuasive than punitive. Terming them "a modest and few enhancements and modifications" to the current league's anti-violence crime programs, NFL management council chairman Harold Henderson presented a new set of initiatives to league owners on the first day of this two-day league meeting. There was irony in the NFL announcing its new initiatives in Baltimore, even while the murder trial of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis opened Tuesday in Atlanta. But it was the Ravens' venerable owner, Art Modell, who perhaps set the tone for the NFL's prevention-first attitude in terms of policing player conduct, offering this summation Tuesday as means of explaining the league-wide problem: "You have to understand the psyche of the players," Modell said. "Some of them come from broken homes. No mother, no father. They're drooled on by all the athletic directors and coaches in America. Then they major in ballroom dancing and the pros throw $8 million at them. "The club has a big responsibility. We've been doing it for years. There are so many parasites that hang on the superstars. I can tell you we're not going to exonerate them from being around the wrong people." Among the enhancements outlined by Henderson were: Players will also repeatedly be reminded to carefully select their friends and associates, with regards to the reflection it makes on their reputations. "It's in our interest to not have players involved whether they're guilty or innocent," Henderson said. "I think the issue of association is one we have to emphasize to the players and we are. They're held responsible for being involved in bad conduct, whether they are directly responsible for that act or not." While none of these measures required a vote of league owners -- they are adopted and blended into the current policies -- Henderson said the initiatives had the full support and participation of the NFL players union. As for the need of any tougher penalties should these measures not curb the outbreak of off-field incidents that have consumed the NFL in recent months, Henderson said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue already has the power to address that potential scenario. "I think he made it clear by his [recent] actions that if the deterrent effect is not as desired, then it'll be stepped up a little bit ... . But [this] concludes this phase at least. I'll sure they'll be times in the future that we need to address it again. "None of these things are dramatic. But we feel comfortable that we have the right kind of programs in place. We're pretty satisfied that we have been doing the right thing all along." In other news Tuesday, the league owners unanimously approved the transfer of ownership of the San Francisco 49ers to Denise DeBartolo York, the sister of longtime 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo; held more discussion on the league's two-year experiment to form its own exclusive internet network; and debated the adoption of a new scheduling format for the 2002 season, when expansion Houston will become the league's 32nd team. The NFL has set a June 1, 2001 deadline for realigning itself into eight four-team divisions for 2002, but must first settle the scheduling formula question. After hearing a presentation from the competition committee on the scheduling format, owners said a vote is not expected until at least the fall owners meeting in October. Also, the owners also approved an early retirement benefits package for the league's assistant coaches, that could take effect at age 58. Tagliabue met with several of the league's head coaches to explain the package, but the measure has yet to be presented to the assistant coaches themselves, or their de facto leader, Larry Kennan, executive director of the NFL Coaches Association. Lastly, the league owners heard from ABC-TV producer Don Ohlmeyer, who has returned to Monday Night Football in an attempt to re-energize the show's sagging ratings. New England owner Robert Kraft said Ohlmeyer gave the owners his vision of how to return the "sizzle" to the Monday Night Football telecast, including a guarantee of returning to three announcers in the booth this season.
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