KC Warpaint 3,234 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 The Chiefs broke the rule. They are not even denying this. They broke the rule, and they did it sloppily enough to be caught, and there’s an old line about not doing the crime if you don’t want to do the time. If that’s as far as you want to go with this story that currently has the Chiefs fined, losing two draft picks, and dug in for a fight against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, then cool. Good for you. It’s easier that way. But this is the beginning of something bigger. This is the NFL coming down unprecedentedly hard on a franchise and leadership group without prior convictions. And this is Clark Hunt — one of the league’s most respected owners — firing back at Goodell without the baggage of, say, Patriots owner Robert Kraft talking about deflated footballs. “We believe that the penalties proposThe Chiefs broke the rule. They are not even denying this. They broke the rule, and they did it sloppily enough to be caught, and there’s an old line about not doing the crime if you don’t want to do the time. If that’s as far as you want to go with this story that currently has the Chiefs fined, losing two draft picks, and dug in for a fight against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, then cool. Good for you. It’s easier that way. But this is the beginning of something bigger. This is the NFL coming down unprecedentedly hard on a franchise and leadership group without prior convictions. And this is Clark Hunt — one of the league’s most respected owners — firing back at Goodell without the baggage of, say, Patriots owner Robert Kraft talking about deflated footballs. “We believe that the penalties proposed in this case are inconsistent with discipline informed in similar matters — particularly given the league’s inconsistent communication of its policies on contact with potential free agents,” Hunt said in a statement. On this point, Hunt is absolutely right. The NFL’s methods in discipline lack credibility, and there have long been indications and many within the league (most of them players) who believe Goodell’s version of justice ranges from reactionary to damage control to vindictive to random. The Chiefs have essentially been accused of contacting then-free-agent Jeremy Maclin directly, instead of through his agent, during a period when such contact was prohibited. That’s it, by all indications, and then the Chiefs cooperated with the NFL’s investigation and have a clean record in following rules — and still they were slapped with a heavy-handed punishment. The Chiefs are (for now, anyway) losing a third-round pick this year and a sixth-round pick next year. In addition, the team ($250,000), coach Andy Reid ($75,000) and general manager John Dorsey ($25,000) are fined. What makes this particularly curious is that what the Chiefs are accused of happens all the time, with many teams and many free agents. That’s not a defense of the Chiefs. If anything, it’s an indictment, because getting caught on something like this requires sloppiness, arrogance, or both, along with some bad luck. One thing to keep in mind — the natural speculation is that the Eagles turned the Chiefs in. Maclin has said his decision came down to staying in Philadelphia or going to play for his old coach in Kansas City. But here’s an indication the Eagles were not involved — they are not receiving compensation in the punishment, as is customary in such matters. But still, why is the NFL’s punishment here so disproportionate? The 49ers lost a fifth-round pick for contacting the agent of Bears linebacker Lance Briggs during the 2008 season. Two years later, the Lions lost a seventh-round pick and had to swap fifth-round picks for tampering with Chiefs players. Two years ago, the Jets were fined $100,000 for owner Woody Johnson’s tampering with Darrelle Revis. If there is an example of a punishment as harsh as the Chiefs’ for a violation this common, two league sources could not think of it Wednesday night. Goodell’s self-serving and self-contradictory history in discipline demands that we wonder what else is going on here. If we can take NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent at his word, that the punishment could have been more severe if not for the Chiefs’ clean record and full cooperation, perhaps the punishment is a message to other teams. Maybe this is the NFL tiring of its rules being flaunted, and a desire for teams — particularly those with new leadership — to know the landscape is changing. In that way, the Chiefs’ clean record and Reid’s long history (including some time in charge of personnel with the Eagles) make for a symbolic defendant. But if that’s the case, it seems like a strange hill on which to take a stand and presents even more questions, for instance: Why shouldn’t teams be able to contact players directly, instead of going through the agent? Also: If the league wanted to send a message, why did it wait until the 2016 tampering period was over to announce an overzealous punishment for 2015 tampering? What we have, then, is a story without winners. Nobody involved looks good here. The Chiefs look bad for being the ones getting caught breaking a commonly broken rule, and what’s even worse, the whole thing was so unnecessary. Maclin and Reid have a terrific relationship, and Maclin surely could’ve waited for the NFL’s bizarre gatekeeping to allow for direct contact. The NFL looks bad for another example of inconsistent punishment, for a combination of fines and forfeited draft picks that appears to be grabbed from the commissioner’s imagination. Goodell’s insistence on handling discipline himself has exposed his own inadequacies. Worse, he’s damaged his league’s credibility with both players and owners, and in the process created drama, infighting and bad feelings that a more competent leader would’ve avoided. It’s enough of a mess that even if the Chiefs did what the NFL is accusing them of doing, the organization is still on the right side of an ugly and ultimately unnecessary fight with a misguided commissioner over the equivalent of jail time for a broken headlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Is there anymore proof needed to know the league has it out for the Chiefs and their fans. This is an affront to the people of Kansas City, and the fans of their team. This is not just against the ownership. The league has gone out of their way, over and over, to make enemies with the people of this fine Midwestern town. Shame on the NFL. If I were Clark Hunt, I would sue. I hope he steps up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kccrow 529 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 They should fight it very hard. The punishment is extremely inconsistent with past punishments for the same offense. I would have understood a 5th and 7th, but a 3rd is a complete joke. Basically, the NFL is deeming this as an offense on par with circumventing the cap and considerably worse than any other tampering ever done before. Historically, this is an offense that usually costs a team a 5th round pick or slightly more, but never a 3rd nor anywhere close to it. Here is the NFLs list of team draft pick revocations since 1980: 2015 - Deflation of Footballs by Patriots - lose 2016 1st, 2017 4th 2015 - Artificial Crowd Noise by Falcons - lose 2016 5th 2012 - Bounties for Player Injury by Saints - lose 2012 2nd, 2013 2nd 2011 - Tampering by Lions - lose 7th, swap 5ths with KC 2008 - Tampering by 49ers - lose 5th, swap 3rds with CHI 2002 - Circumventing Cap by Broncos - lose 3rd in 2002 and 2005 2001 - Circumventing Cap by 49ers - lose 2001 5th, 2002 3rd 2001 - Exceeding Cap by Steelers in 1998 - lose 3rd 1986 - Illegal Use of Injured Reserve by Patriots - lose 3rd 1981 - Contract Violations by Broncos - lose 3rd 1981 - Illegal Sequestering by Raiders in 1978 - lose 5th 1980 - Illegal Tryout by Eagles - lose 3rd 1980 - Evasion of Player Limit - Raiders - lose 4th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCSLC2008 606 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 They should fight it very hard. The punishment is extremely inconsistent with past punishments for the same offense. I would have understood a 5th and 7th, but a 3rd is a complete joke. Basically, the NFL is deeming this as an offense on par with circumventing the cap and considerably worse than any other tampering ever done before. Historically, this is an offense that usually costs a team a 5th round pick or slightly more, but never a 3rd nor anywhere close to it. Here is the NFLs list of team draft pick revocations since 1980: 2015 - Deflation of Footballs by Patriots - lose 2016 1st, 2017 4th 2015 - Artificial Crowd Noise by Falcons - lose 2016 5th 2012 - Bounties for Player Injury by Saints - lose 2012 2nd, 2013 2nd 2011 - Tampering by Lions - lose 7th, swap 5ths with KC 2008 - Tampering by 49ers - lose 5th, swap 3rds with CHI 2002 - Circumventing Cap by Broncos - lose 3rd in 2002 and 2005 2001 - Circumventing Cap by 49ers - lose 2001 5th, 2002 3rd 2001 - Exceeding Cap by Steelers in 1998 - lose 3rd 1986 - Illegal Use of Injured Reserve by Patriots - lose 3rd 1981 - Contract Violations by Broncos - lose 3rd 1981 - Illegal Sequestering by Raiders in 1978 - lose 5th 1980 - Illegal Tryout by Eagles - lose 3rd 1980 - Evasion of Player Limit - Raiders - lose 4th Not only are they acting like what we did was the worst type of tampering to warrant the worst type of punishment, but to make matters worse, Troy Vincent said that it was only so low because of our clean record. How the fuck do we get the worst punishment after having a clean record before? As said earlier, Vincent doesn't like Reid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kccrow 529 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Not only are they acting like what we did was the worst type of tampering to warrant the worst type of punishment, but to make matters worse, Troy Vincent said that it was only so low because of our clean record. How the fuck do we get the worst punishment after having a clean record before? As said earlier, Vincent doesn't like Reid. There were several teams last year that tampered as much as the Chiefs did and were mentioned in an investigation list a while back that I'm too lazy to look up. Funny how the Chiefs were the only ones punished for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Sue the freaking NFL. Do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMO 6,811 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 There were several teams last year that tampered as much as the Chiefs did and were mentioned in an investigation list a while back that I'm too lazy to look up. Funny how the Chiefs were the only ones punished for it. I don't know about several, but I do know that the Jets were being investigated over a comment that their owner made to the media at a press conference about wanting Revis back. That is a blatant violation of the policy. Wonder why they were not fined? Hmmmm.... "Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club's player to that player's agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation of the Anti-Tampering Policy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCSLC2008 606 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I don't know about several, but I do know that the Jets were being investigated over a comment that their owner made to the media at a press conference about wanting Revis back. That is a blatant violation of the policy. Wonder why they were not fined? Hmmmm.... "Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club's player to that player's agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation of the Anti-Tampering Policy." The Jets comment wasn't to "a member of the news media," it was to members of the news media. Technicality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kccrow 529 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 I don't know about several, but I do know that the Jets were being investigated over a comment that their owner made to the media at a press conference about wanting Revis back. That is a blatant violation of the policy. Wonder why they were not fined? Hmmmm.... "Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club's player to that player's agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation of the Anti-Tampering Policy." Jets have a history of getting away with a lot of shit because Roger God-ell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCSLC2008 606 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Any updates? The deadline to appeal has passed, but I've seen no confirmation that we've appealed. I wouldn't be surprised if Clark decided it was in his best interest to not appeal so as to host a Super Bowl. Someone needs to tell him that playing in a Super Bowl is more important than hosting one, as it will bring in more recognition, free agents, money, and third round picks can be pretty important to getting to the SB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.