The big news of the day is Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland committed a stupid and in the real world, a fire-able offense. Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports broke the story that Ireland asked Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant (later drafted by Dallas) in his pre-draft interview if his mother was a prostitute. Last time I checked, a question like this asked to a prospective employee is against EEOC guidelines and just plain stupid.
In the same pre-draft interviews conducted by NFL teams, Stanford RB Tobey Gerhart (later drafted by Minnesota) was asked if as a white running back, he felt “entitled.”
And what about last year, when Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable punched out one if his assistant coaches breaking his jaw? Cable was never charged, but was clearly exonerated by the league with little due-diligence done.
How is it that Ben Roethlisberger gets a 6-game suspension for stupid acts that he was never charged with? Plaxico Burress is in jail for shooting himself in the leg. Don’t even get me started on Pacman Jones.
Don’t get me wrong, I think all the players got what they deserved. But what is this double-standard? At what point does NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell start holding team executives, management, and coaches to the same standards. Bill Belichek cheated and got one game. C’mon Roger, it’s time to level the playing field. Ireland needs to be penalized…hard. Whoever made the comment to Gerhart needs to be called out. It’s time to “protect the shield” across the board.
© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved
