{"id":468,"date":"2012-04-10T11:50:04","date_gmt":"2012-04-10T15:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/?p=468"},"modified":"2023-07-25T12:19:11","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T16:19:11","slug":"nfl-commissioners-authority-makes-lowered-punishment-unlikely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/jsel\/2012\/04\/nfl-commissioners-authority-makes-lowered-punishment-unlikely\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Commissioner’s Authority Makes Lowered Punishment Unlikely"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Roger Goodell\u2019s NFL, punishment is swift and it is severe. For proof, one\u00a0need look no further than the 1-year suspension meted out to Saints coach Sean Payton\u00a0for his role in Bounty-Gate (not to mention the first ever suspension of a General\u00a0Manager, Saints GM Mickey Loomis). But why can Commissioner Goodell hand down\u00a0such a steep sentence, and will Payton be successful in his appeal? The answers lie in the\u00a0extreme power structure that is Commissioner\u2019s Authority in the National Football\u00a0League.<\/p>\n

Under the Personal Conduct Policy (PCP), the NFL Commissioner has without question\u00a0the greatest authority to punish of any Commissioner in the major American sports\u00a0leagues. The PCP applies to every individual associated with the League and allows the\u00a0Commissioner to fine, suspend, or banish those who violate its rules. The scope of the\u00a0PCP is wide-ranging, covering both conduct on the playing field, as well as conduct that\u00a0is detrimental to the integrity of the game. And it is that \u201cintegrity of the game\u201d\u00a0provision of which Sean Payton, by overseeing a system of bounties on players and then\u00a0lying about it, has run afoul.<\/p>\n

However, perhaps the biggest advantage Commissioner Goodell has is the lack of\u00a0independent review of his decisions. While all of his decisions under the PCP are\u00a0appealable, they may be appealed only to the Commissioner himself (unless the dispute\u00a0has to do with the language of a contract). While this lack of independent review has\u00a0been challenged in court, Holmes v. NFL<\/a>, held that\u00a0the lack of arbitration does not violate due process, as arbitration (or the lack thereof)\u00a0was a voluntary component of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and therefore constitutional rights did not attach.<\/p>\n

So whether the Payton appeal is successful by any measure will be a matter for\u00a0the Commissioner to decide, in his role as both judge and jury. But would the appeal be\u00a0successful in another league? While both the NBA and MLB Commissioners have\u00a0similar ability to punish behavior that is detrimental to the integrity of the game, both are\u00a0also subject to review by independent arbitrators (in MLB for every penalty and in the\u00a0NBA for any suspension). Just ask Ryan Braun how important that right of independent\u00a0arbitration can be.<\/p>\n

But this is Roger Goodell\u2019s NFL and he has an image to protect; an image of\u00a0purity in a game whose real goal is destruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  In Roger Goodell\u2019s NFL, punishment is swift and it is severe. For proof, one\u00a0need look no further than the 1-year suspension meted out to Saints coach Sean Payton\u00a0for his role in Bounty-Gate (not to mention the first ever suspension of a General\u00a0Manager, Saints GM Mickey Loomis). But why can Commissioner Goodell hand down\u00a0such a 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