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NFLPA president Eric Winston: Owners should be held to higher discipline standards than players

By Jack Crosby

Dec 8, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Eric Winston against the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 8, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Eric Winston against the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Thursday, NFLPA president Eric Winston joined PFT Live for a discussion and he had some rather interesting remarks in regards to discipline throughout the league. In particular, he sees a huge difference in the way off-field issues for owners are held in comparison to the way players are dealt with–and he doesn’t seem to approve one bit.

As a matter of fact, if anything, he believes that the people in charge of the teams should be held to higher standards of discipline than the players on the field.

"“I think to me in a way there should be a higher standard for owners,” Winston said.  “I don’t understand why the discipline for an owner of one of these 32 teams that hold the shield of the league is compared to a 22-year-old kid.  That’s what I don’t understand, is why are we trying to compare?  To me, there should be a much higher standard for an owner, there should be no doubt because I think he represents that team, and that’s what we’ve always said about the shield right?"

Winston does bring up an interesting point in saying that the much more should be expected out of the mature adults. He would go on to explain his stance even further.

"“To me it’s not an apples to apples situation, it’s a situation where we have an owner who has unfortunately gotten into some trouble and I don’t understand why we’re trying to compare it to . . . a player. This guy is an owner of a National Football League team and to me that should mean so much more and in a way that he should be held to a much higher standard.  And that’s just my opinion of this situation.”"

This all stemmed from when they asked Winston a question in regards to the recent situation involving Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who was recently arrested for a DUI incident in which prescription pills were also found in the vehicle.

What do you think? Is Winston correct? Should the people in the suits and ties be held to the same standards as the players with the pads on? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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