Bloody hell, Goodell!

[Marshall 98]

It is infuriating how deliberately he has been shafting Aldon Smith and, by extension, the Oakland Raiders.

 

Smith has met all guidelines, and has been eligible for reinstatement since November 17th... so, what do we hear today?

 

Goodell said there is no timetable for a ruling on Smith, and that information regarding Smith’s case is still being vetted.

 

He said a lot more meaningless crap vaguely concerning Smith as well, but you'll have to hit the link for that, as I cannot stand to directly quote the bastage:

 

http://www.csnbayarea.com/raiders/goodell-nfl-still-vetting-aldon-reinstatement-application-no-timetable

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

To be fair Smith is kind of a POS. Although some people still think Hardy is a good dude who just dates lying women so maybe the same people believe Smith has just had some bad luck

[Marshall 98]

To be fair Smith is kind of a POS. Although some people still think Hardy is a good dude who just dates lying women so maybe the same people believe Smith has just had some bad luck

 

Yes he was...when he was still with the Niners (who have not been running an exactly stellar organization). However, once he signed with the Raiders (which most of us winced at, at the time), they took him under their wing and he straightened out and began to flourish. Justin Tuck and Charles Woodson were particularly good influences, but really, the entire organization worked to steer him back to the right path.

 

He has done everything right since landing with the Raiders - and the reason for his punishment is from his time with the Niners (2014 I think?) He was initially slapped with a 10-game suspension for this season, but the Raiders had enough faith in him to keep him on anyway. Well, he has served that time - and then some - and yet freaking Goodell is leaving him twisting in the wind.

 

By the way, there is no similarity to Hardy here as it does not involve domestic abuse. (You may be thinking of Ray McDonald?)

[polecatt 403]

I know how Goodell is with crap like this and it's ridiculous but I'm certainly not shedding any tears for Aldon Smith.

He's shown numerous times that he is a dangerous person. Maybe he's been clean for the past year or so but that doesn't mean he's cured of what ails him, just a step in the right direction. Still much more to show IMO.

Maybe he's not been guilty of domestic violence but that's not the only crime that matters. He seems to have a problem with driving while intoxicated. That's a deadly crime.

I wouldn't care if he's not reinstated to be honest.

[GornFishin' 57]

Good behaviour doesn't mitigate past crimes.

 

It's just what you should have been doing all along.

 

Are you complaining that he's been punished for something he did 2 years ago. The poor dear.

[Marshall 98]

Are you complaining that he's been punished for something he did 2 years ago. The poor dear.

 

No, of course not.

 

However, he has now served his time. It should be over and done with, so he can get on with his life.

[ralphster 274]

I don't like Goodell's arbitrary nature when dealing with stuff like this. The CBA gives the time frame but doesn't spell out every detail. Really its the players association that should be intervening, but with Smiths history it gets complicated.

 

I'm assuming the issue is that the rog is (legitimately) concerned that Smith will go out partying the night after his first win, get drunk, possibly with fire arms close at hand and maybe someone gets hurt. Because the rog doesn't like to be embarrassed.

 

Personally I believe Smith has been a model of compliance since OAK took the chance on him. People should not be judged by their worst moment alone. Those who do so in casual fashion are likely just salty or worse.

[Maulers1973 117]

The sooner Goodell is removed from the discipline of players, the better. He's a colossal failure at all of this stuff, and he has tarnished the image of the league. If Smith has been compliant, then I see no reason why he shouldn't be reinstated.

[Oriole8159 86]

I remember when Smith was released, SF's front office was legit devastated that they had to finally do it, because they liked the guy so much and he was such a beloved member of the organization. I think I remember that they even offered to continue paying for his treatment, or find some way to keep him on payroll so his insurance would still it.

 

That would support the rhetoric that I think the OP is trying to make. That doesn't excuse his actions or downplay the severity of drunk driving, but I think it's relevant if we're trying to compare him to a Greg Hardy or a Ray McDonald.

[Kent 228]

Isn't Aldon a psychopath?

 

Hits to the head aren't what he needs.

 

Counseling and treatment paid for by the NFL make more sense. Forever.

[Captain Goomy Noomy Roo 47]

Goodell is a bloody POS... eeeeewww

[Marshall 98]

I detest Goodell.

 

ProFootballTalk ‏@ProFootballTalk

NFL will not be reinstating Raiders LB Aldon Smith this season, per source. Commissioner will revisit the case on March 15, 2017.

 

Jerry McDonald ‏@Jerrymcd

NFL will review Aldon Smith's petition for reinstatement BEGINNING in March. As we know, can always be longer . . .

[R8RMick 242]

I've been hammering this hard on the Raider forums. The big argument is whether the suspension was indefinite with ability to apply for reinstatement after one year; or one year with ability to apply for reinstatement.

 

All NFL press releases last November point to the latter, but it's much ado about nothing as Goodell is judge and jury.

 

Then there's the video. Was it him or not? I've seen nothing proving so, but that's immaterial as you can't prove drug use from a video. He says it wasn't him, and then entered rehab. But is that an admission of use?

 

The bottom line is that the kid has not failed or missed a drug test that we know of. He's also steered clear of The Bronze. So in essence other than the video episode, at worst a display of immaturity and a conduct violation, Smith has been a model citizen. What more does the want?

 

My personal take is Goodell being concerned about Smith's court date next February, stemming from his last DUI/hit and run in August of 2015. That led to Frisco cutting him. Hence the March 2017 time frame. Aldon Smith has multiple DUI's and has violated parole more than once. He may end up in jail. I thought the NFL would let him play pending the trial.

 

Would've been nice of Focktard Goodell to reinstate him, so the kid's $78,000 per game salary could help pay those upcoming legal bills.

[GornFishin' 57]

Should be in jail. And not for a week. DUI (multiple), Hit and run. Bomb threats. Vandalism. Illegal weapons possession All for which he was underpunished because he plays football. Whoop de do.

 

And probably a litany of other issues not reported or brushed under the carpet.

 

Goodell is exactly right to keep him out of the NFL.

 

Weird how you clowns want the key thrown away if a normal dude does these things, but when an "athlete" does it, you are suddenly all about rehabilitation and forgiveness.

[Marshall 98]

Should be in jail. And not for a week. DUI (multiple), Hit and run. Bomb threats. Vandalism. Illegal weapons possession All for which he was underpunished because he plays football. Whoop de do.

 

And probably a litany of other issues not reported or brushed under the carpet.

 

Goodell is exactly right to keep him out of the NFL.

 

Weird how you clowns want the key thrown away if a normal dude does these things, but when an "athlete" does it, you are suddenly all about rehabilitation and forgiveness.

 

In this instance, I am not concerned with meted punishment (or lack thereof). Aldon Smith is merely another example of an athlete (or owner, or coach, or organization) trapped within a bafflingly arbitrary and apparently random system of...well hell, you can't call it 'justice'. Not with a straight face, anyway.

 

What I am concerned with is Goodell's deliberately opaque, misleading and equivocating (when not downright lying) manner of addressing these peop...err...'issues'. He has practiced deception to perfection, and it both saddens and angers me that he holds such careless power over other men's lives.

[wiffleball 4,640]

Yeah, i'm not really familiar with all the particulars, but I do hate that part of Goodell.

It's a multi-billion dollar organization, run it like one.

 

This "well see... oh, I dunno when... It'll happen when it happens" nonsense has been

the hallmark of his tenure. "You're grounded until I feel like it!" crap is really unprofessional.

 

And I'm not just talking about the arbitrary and capricious nature of the punishments, but

also (and just as unprofessional and

frustrating) of his so called "investigations".

 

Look, he's hired a small army of lawyers and others in light of Ray Rice and Deflategate, etc.

There is no reason why he shouldn't hold these VERY well paid people accountable in their

investigations as well.

 

You set goals, deadlines, you provide clear-cut answers as to what you know now and what

you are still efforting to learn or determine. Every other intelligent business model runs like that.

 

This vauge bullshiit - and the media's lack of backbone to hold them accountable - is ridiculous.

Simple follow up questions; "Okay Commish, what DON'T you: know now about the situation that

you hope to learn in the near future? And how are you going about that? And when do you expect

your people to provide you with that information?

 

But the media will never do that. Because that SAME media is desperately hoping for access and

and leg-up in the next TV Rights bidding war. It's a perfect recipe/environment for incompetence and

in-accountability.

 

Good work if you can get it I guess.

[R8RMick 242]

Should be in jail. And not for a week. DUI (multiple), Hit and run. Bomb threats. Vandalism. Illegal weapons possession All for which he was underpunished because he plays football. Whoop de do.

 

And probably a litany of other issues not reported or brushed under the carpet.

 

Goodell is exactly right to keep him out of the NFL.

 

Weird how you clowns want the key thrown away if a normal dude does these things, but when an "athlete" does it, you are suddenly all about rehabilitation and forgiveness.

 

 

I'm a Raiders fan, I've never pretended to care or give a otherwise about 'normal dudes,' or any other player who doesn't work for my team.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

Yeah, i'm not really familiar with all the particulars, but I do hate that part of Goodell.

It's a multi-billion dollar organization, run it like one.

 

This "well see... oh, I dunno when... It'll happen when it happens" nonsense has been

the hallmark of his tenure. "You're grounded until I feel like it!" crap is really unprofessional.

 

And I'm not just talking about the arbitrary and capricious nature of the punishments, but

also (and just as unprofessional and

frustrating) of his so called "investigations".

 

Look, he's hired a small army of lawyers and others in light of Ray Rice and Deflategate, etc.

There is no reason why he shouldn't hold these VERY well paid people accountable in their

investigations as well.

 

You set goals, deadlines, you provide clear-cut answers as to what you know now and what

you are still efforting to learn or determine. Every other intelligent business model runs like that.

 

This vauge bullshiit - and the media's lack of backbone to hold them accountable - is ridiculous.

Simple follow up questions; "Okay Commish, what DON'T you: know now about the situation that

you hope to learn in the near future? And how are you going about that? And when do you expect

your people to provide you with that information?

 

But the media will never do that. Because that SAME media is desperately hoping for access and

and leg-up in the next TV Rights bidding war. It's a perfect recipe/environment for incompetence and

in-accountability.

 

Good work if you can get it I guess.

Wiff and Ray T post very similarly... hmm.

[jaxjag 43]

It is infuriating how deliberately he has been shafting Aldon Smith and, by extension, the Oakland Raiders.

 

Smith has met all guidelines, and has been eligible for reinstatement since November 17th... so, what do we hear today?

 

 

He said a lot more meaningless crap vaguely concerning Smith as well, but you'll have to hit the link for that, as I cannot stand to directly quote the bastage:

 

http://www.csnbayarea.com/raiders/goodell-nfl-still-vetting-aldon-reinstatement-application-no-timetable

 

Hard to defend Smith given his rap sheet. Given the Raiders acquired Smith AFTER all his troubles, I don't have any sympathy. Calculated risk they lost.

[Vikings4ever 496]

Weird how you clowns want the key thrown away if a normal dude does these things, but when an "athlete" does it, you are suddenly all about rehabilitation and forgiveness.

Big difference between wanting the criminal justice system to do its job vs wanting that bumbler Goodell to hand out punishment with no consistency.

[Ray_T 591]

I agree with this statement.

 

Goodell has a history of giving a suspension, then changing his mind at the last minute to lengthen the suspension.

 

I am not by any means protecting the player. I am really attacking the process.

 

If you give a player 10 games, and he serves his time without getting into trouble, you reinstate him. You dont let him hang in the wind. Even if you think the initial 10 game suspension was too short. That does not matter. once the decision was made to suspend him 10 games, that should be it. Period. end of discussion. and at the end of those 10 games he plays again.

 

The arbitrary nature of what goodell is doing from time to time really isnt fair and it discredits the NFL.

 

I don't like Goodell's arbitrary nature when dealing with stuff like this. The CBA gives the time frame but doesn't spell out every detail. Really its the players association that should be intervening, but with Smiths history it gets complicated.