While we enjoy all the college football action this fine Saturday afternoon, the NFL and the players union are hard at work trying to hammer out a new drug policy before the season gets too far underway.
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The negotiations between the league and union have been shrouded in secrecy as you would expect, but a few details have come trickling out. PFT is now reporting on one new, interesting provision that would be a part of the policy if the NFL gets its way.
According to a source, the NFL is asking that individuals who are busted for DUI now automatically be de-activated with pay for one game immediately after their arrest. The NFL also wants to slap two-game suspensions on players for first offense DUI arrests only after they have gone through the judicial process.
Under the current policy, players are receiving long suspensions without pay sometimes months after the court process plays out (Josh Gordon being one case-in-point). The new policy would allow the NFL to act swiftly to punish players without docking them pay, and still hit them with harder penalties later if they are found guilty by the court.
Interestingly, the new policy would not apply only to players but also team officials and owners. In the wake of the Jim Irsay fiasco, it seems the league is seeking a more uniform and fair policy to deal with offenders at all levels.
We’ll see if this flies with the union. The NFL certainly needs to clean up and simplify its policies for punishing DUI offenders, and hopefully do away with these long, drawn-out appeals processes. Their current plan for dealing with these situations is an absolute mess.