The commissioner didn't wait to meet with Jones and Vick when they had criminal investigations hanging over their heads. Every time a prominent black athlete is involved in a legal situation, it seems as if the long, lawful arm of Goodell is ready to react.
The commissioner announced Jones' season-long suspension in 2007 less than two months after he was allegedly involved in an altercation and shooting outside of a Las Vegas strip club -- which was two months before Jones was officially charged by Vegas police and a week after Goodell brought Jones into his office for one of his infamous sit-downs. Jones accepted a plea deal for the Vegas incident in November 2007, which resulted in a suspended one-year prison sentence, probation and community service.
The commissioner wasn't wrong for punishing Jones before he had his day in court. Given Jones' extensive brushes with the law and the seriousness of the Las Vegas incident, Jones' one-year suspension was entirely appropriate. There was little doubt his reckless behavior was undermining the league's credibility and its reputation.
Goodell, though, officially set a precedent with Jones. For the commissioner, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.
When Goodell suspended Jones, he wrote a letter to the troubled player that stated: "Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction."
Roethlisberger might not have the same track record as Jones, but being accused of sexual assault twice in less than a year is an embarrassment not only to the Steelers, but to the entire NFL.
