NFL Furthers Its Own Hypocrisy on Player Safety by Upholding Suspensions

Although it was the correct move to uphold the suspensions levied against the New Orleans Saints, the NFL remains hypocritical about player safety—especially if the push for an 18-game schedule continues.

In an article on NFL.com, the league made the decision about the suspensions on Monday:

The league announced the decision four days after Goodell spent roughly six hours speaking with Payton (suspended for the 2012 season), Loomis (eight-game suspension) and Vitt (six-game suspension), who hoped to reduce suspensions handed down by the league.

Obviously, this is the right call because despite the violence that exists in the game itself, there's no room for bounties. As for the 18-game season, it remains a polarizing topic in regards to making the game safer.

Back in February, in an article on Sports Radio Interviews by Steve Cuce, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated in an interview with ESPN 1050:

We wouldn’t add an extra two games without reducing the preseason and we are not going to do it without the players support. We’ll look at the idea of restructuring the season and taking two preseason games away and the potential of adding regular season games, but I don’t think that will happen until at least 2013 or 14.

So in other words, we're possibly looking at one or two more years until real discussions begin about an 18-game regular season.

Take into account all the new rules about safety, adding two extra games is not making the game any safer.

All it's going to mean are more big hits, injuries, potential fines for controversial calls on big hits and disgruntled players. Take into consideration all the former players who have sued the league before and that number will significantly increase in the coming years.

Not because the league tried to make the game safer, but because adding two more game simply puts the players more at risk to injury and further health issues down the road.

If the league really wants to make the game safer, but begin the regular season sooner and try to add games, it needs to look at taking away one preseason game and adding a seventh and eighth seed to the postseason.

Obviously not the most ideal or perfect solution, however, four more playoff games would be added and instead of a bye week, the top seeds are rewarded with an additional home game. Making an 18-game season, but dishing out all kinds of penalties and fines for physical play is straight up hypocritical.

A game of football's violence cannot be made safer by adding games just for the sake of making more money.

Lest we forget about how little the majority of players will care about the late-season games. If a team is already in or out of the playoffs, we can't expect them to lay it all on the line for the risk of missing the postseason or future seasons.

Make no mistake about it: Upholding the bounty suspensions were the correct move, but trying to justify an 18-game regular season is impossible when simultaneously paired with trying to improve the safety of the game.

 

John Rozum on Twitter.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1139321-nfl-furthers-their-own-hypocrisy-on-player-safety-by-upholding-suspensions

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