Chris Valletta Urging Roger Goodell to ‘Drop The Hammer’ On Players

By Josh Hill | Oct 16, 2014

May 8, 2014; New York, NY, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports /

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently met with former NFL player Chris Valletta to discuss changes to the league’s personal conduct policy. Valetta told Goodell he needs to drop the hammer moving forward.

Roger Goodell might as well dress up as Ebenezer Scrooge this Halloween, as life is imitating art when it comes to that classic tale. While the commissioner of the NFL may be a rich man in theory, he’s becoming increasingly needy when it comes to his public image and how he is perceived as the leader of a mutlibillion dollar business.

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There are steps that Goodell can take to start changing both the way he’s perceived by the public but more importantly how his league is managed from a personal conduct standpoint. Goodell talked with former NFL player Chris Valletta recently to talk about the conduct changes he can make, which Valletta gave insight to in his interview with FanSided this week.

“We told Goodell, drop the hammer. Drop the hammer on these guys,” Valetta said in his interview with FanSided . “If somebody screws up, drop the hammer. That involves taking the game away. That involves taking money away. These are significant things – and [Goodell] agreed.

Prior to saying this, Valetta stated that he believes the NFL needs to eliminate the ‘grey’ when it comes to criminal activity and how it is tolerated by the league.

“We’ve got to eliminate the grey,” Valletta said. “Which means getting a lot more specificity in it as it related to specific criminal activities, and let everyone know who signs it that this is the result of any ill-advised action that you might take as an employee of the NFL.”

Goodell’s efforts to clean the NFL up have been misguided, at best. But there is still a chance for his story to have some redemption in it, and that’s something Valletta is trying to push him towards as an overhaul of the player conduct policy seems to be in order.

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