NFL's Tarnished Heroes

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Dec 14, 1998 | by Karen Goldberg Goff

Rap sheets haven't stopped sports franchises from signing top athletes. The National Football League, in particular, has been unfazed by players' misdeeds -- from rape to drugs.

Today's football hero may be tomorrow's inmate. So contend authors Jeff Benedict and Don Yaeger in a controversial study, Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL, published by Warner Books.

According to Benedict and Yaeger, 21 percent of NFL players -- more than one in five -- have been charged with at least one serious crime, including two murder arrests, seven rape charges, 45 counts of domestic violence and 42 charges of assault and battery.

"Is it surprising to see those kinds of numbers in one league?" asks Benedict, a former director of research at Northeastern University's Center for Sport and Society. "Number one, it reflects the higher crime rate in society. The kinds of crimes these men are being charged with -- guns and drugs, for instance -- are higher than they were 20 years ago. Number two, it shows the NFL's willingness to employ guys with this type of behavior. Typically, employers would not be anxious to pay six or seven figures to a person with an arrest record."

The authors point out several examples of the NFL's acceptance of off-field violence. In April 1997, the St. Louis Rams selected Texas Christian University center Ryan Tucker in the fourth round of the NFL draft. At the time, Tucker was awaiting trial for an assault that left the victim paralyzed and brain-damaged. When asked about Tucker's legal difficulties, coach Dick Vermeil replied, "He can finish a fight. That's a positive."

When Baltimore running back Byron "Bam" Morris missed a meeting with his probation officer in October, Ravens owner Art Modell tried to get the absence excused. Modell pleaded with officials that the "complex nature of [Morris'] position with the club" made it vital that he not miss work to attend the meeting. But Morris later was cut from the team for violating the probation on a felony drug conviction.

So far, only New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has taken a stand against employing players with criminal records. In the fifth round of the 1996 NFL draft, the Patriots picked Nebraska defensive lineman Christian Peter, who had been arrested eight times (and convicted four times) during college for a variety of offenses, including the assault of a former Miss Nebraska and the rape of another woman. When Peter's past came to light, Kraft cut the player before he was even offered a contract. "We concluded this behavior is incompatible with our organization's standards of acceptable conduct" said Kraft. While he received numerous letters of support from high school and college coaches, he was not praised by the NFL.

Other serious crimes outlined by the authors:

* Atlanta Falcons defensive back Patrick Bates was charged with assaulting his pregnant girlfriend and, three weeks after the baby was born, kidnapping the child and beating the mother with a gun. Bates finally was let go by the Falcons, pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was signed by the Oakland Raiders.

* Falcons all-pro linebacker Cornelius Bennett was charged with rape, sodomy, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment. Bennett pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. He was neither released by the Falcons nor fined by the NFL.

* Former Rams and Miami Dolphins running back Lawrence Phillips repeatedly was arrested for assault and motor-vehicle violations. Rams assistant coach Johnny Roland minimized Phillips' conduct this way: "Everyone deserves a second chance -- sometimes a third or fourth chance. He didn't kill anyone."

The NFL insists such criminal records are the exception and not the norm among its players. "This is the second attempt by Benedict [who also wrote a book about athletes and domestic violence] to unfairly stereotype and stigmatize athletes" says NFL spokesman Joe Browne. "More than 2,500 players go through the league each year. We are fortunate that the overwhelming majority are good citizens. The authors [use as examples] a minority of athletes who got arrested at some point earlier in their careers, before they were in the NFL."

But it is a lack of off-field policies that contributes to players' above-the-law mentality, counters Benedict. While the league offers many educational seminars on the dangers of drug use, guns and gambling, it is failing to deter crime. "That kind of approach is successful with the guys who are good citizens" says Benedict. "But if you have a guy who is involved with criminal behavior, that is not going to deter him."

The NFL does have a policy that prohibits the possession of guns on league properties such as training facilities and stadiums and on road trips. The NFL cannot prohibit players possessing a gun on their own property. It recently increased its substance-abuse policy, with penalties ranging from counseling to a one-year suspension.

Last July, the NFL also instituted a violent-crime policy. A player who is so charged must undergo mandatory counseling and, if convicted, is subject to discipline by the commissioner. So far, the rule has not been tested.