NFL: National Felon League?

• Posted by Vincent LeVine on November 2, 2010 at 1:30am
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NFL: National Felon League?

Football is a violent game. One look at the equipment and the size of the players, and that becomes immediately apparent. It’s the violence that sells the game and the NFL’s caretakers fully understand that. Recently, the enforcement of the rules pertaining to “helmet-to-helmet hits on a defenseless player” have come under scrutiny. As a result, there have been hefty fines handed out, but no suspensions yet. But, is violence “on the field” the only problem in the NFL?

Violence “off the field” may be an even bigger problem because not everybody involved has signed on for it. Innocent people have been hurt by NFL players and the subsequent punishments watered down and in some cases, players continue their NFL careers with little or no penalties.

SIGNON San Diego has published a list compiled by Brent Schrotenboer, Union-Tribune staff writer, titled NFL Arrest Database that currently contains 520 “arrests and citations involving NFL players since 2000 that were more serious than speeding tickets”. The data base begins with the arrest of Charles Woodson on May 24, 2000 in Ann Arbor, Mich., on outstanding warrants charging him with drunken driving and driving on a suspended license. Woodson plead guilty to impaired driving and served 60 hours of community service.

Not included on the list is the arrest of Ray Lewis for his involvement in the stabbing deaths of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar on January 31, 2000, after a Super Bowl party in Atlanta. Lewis’ Lawyer had the murder charges against him dropped in exchange for his testimony against Oakley and Sweeting, Lewis’ two companions that evening. Lewis plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice and was fined $250,000 by the NFL. Oakley and Sweeting were acquitted and the crime remains unsolved…Lewis was named Super Bowl XXXVMVP the following year and has been named to eleven Pro Bowls, been an AP All Pro nine times, and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice.

The most current arrest of an NFL player took place as recently as October 20, 2010 when Indianapolis Colts Punter Pat McAfee was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication. He apparently was swimming in a canal in Broad Ripple, a popular night club district in Indianapolis, and was found “shirtless and wet” in a nearby parking area.

The list according to the database “cannot be considered comprehensive in part because some incidents may not have been reported and some public records proved to be elusive”. The list is made up of arrests that include but are not limited to: drunk driving (DUI), disorderly conduct, possession of Marijuana, possession of firearms, assault, aggravated battery on a pregnant girlfriend/woman, possessing a controlled substance: 100 pills of Vicodin, domestic violence/spousal abuse, public urination, resisting arrest, contributing to the delinquency of a minor: sex with 15-year-old girl, obscenities, disturbing the peace, DUI Manslaughter, reckless driving, failure to pay child support, assault with a dangerous weapon, involuntary manslaughter, boating while intoxicated, criminal possession of prescription painkillers, harassment, destruction of property, criminal mischief, animal neglect/abuse, public intoxication, evading arrest, unlawful restraint, leaving the scene of an accident, violating federal laws against dog-fighting, writing bad checks, felony coercion, driving with a suspended license, grand theft of a firearm/carrying a concealed firearm, trespassing, assault and armed criminal action, indecent conduct, public intoxication, vandalism, providing alcohol to teenage girls, burglarizing the apartment of a former college teammate, reckless endangerment, third-fourth-fifth degree assaults, obstruction, lewd or lascivious conduct on a party boat, substantial battery, public indecency, possession of stolen vehicle, providing false information to an officer, conspiring to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute, kidnapping and burglary, brandishing a handgun, possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, deadly hit-and-run manslaughter, felony grand-theft, defecating in dorm room closet, speeding:126 mph in Crowley, La., theft, abandonment of puppy at a soccer field, possession of an assault rifle and ammunition, propositioning an undercover police officer for sex, disturbing the peace, aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of live-in girlfriend's 4-year-old son, first-degree robbery charge in the pistol-whipping and shooting of an alleged drug dealer, hit and run/careless operation, fraudulently obtaining prescription diet drugs, aggravated battery, burglary of a car, passing bad checks totaling $158,000, misdemeanor assault on a police officer, and felony possession of a controlled substance.

A majority of the arrests involved firearms, Marijuana, alcohol, drugs, women, money, criminal behavior, and vehicles (DUI/Vehicular Manslaughter).

The list of those arrested includes such notables as: Donte Stallworth, Terrell Suggs, Bruce Smith, Larry Johnson, Adam Jones, Ahmad Bradshaw, Shawn Merriman, Michael Vick, Jamal Lewis, Vincent Jackson, Nick Kaczur, Plaxico Buress, Daunte Culpepper, Cato June, David Tyree, Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Marshall, Dana Stubblefield, Albert Haynesworth, Ricky Williams, James Harrison, Muhsin Muhammad, Lofa Tatupu, Terry Glenn, Randy Moss, Marshawn Lynch, David Terrell, Antonio Pierce, Steve McNair, Lawyer Milloy, Santonio Holmes, Steve Smith, Deuce McAllister, Joey Porter, Andre Rison, Corey Dillon, Bill Romanowski, Joey Galloway, Sebastian Janokowski, Fred Taylor, Ronnie Brown, Kevin Faulk, Ty Law, Daniel Graham, Aaron Beasley, Braylon Edwards, Sean Taylor, Chris Simms, Jeff Garcia, Chris Henry, Patrick Surtain, Dwight Smith, Brian Griese, Leonardo Carson, Keith Traylor, Travis Henry, Tank Johnson, Matt Schaub, and Rick Manning Jr.

*some of the players listed are repeat offenders

According to the list, resolutions ranged from “cases dropped” and “players acquitted” to six million dollar fines and up to 12 years in prison. Common resolutions included probation, community service hours, donations to charities, NFL fines, game suspensions, and players being cut/dropped from their prospective teams.

After reading the Arrest Database it appears that some players are better behaved on the field where the striped shirts are worn by officials armed with mere whistles and the worst game penalty is 15 yards and an automatic first down, than off the field where temptation and real life consequences exist …

* Find the complete NFL Arrest Database at: 

http://www.signonsandiego.com/nfl/arrests-database/

VINCENT LEVINE is a free-lance writer and can be reached at: vincent.levine@rocketmail.com