Schmitt Should Be Suspended For A Year

It’s no secret in these parts that yours truly follows closely the football program at West Virginia University. And we’ve got a soft spot for the former fullback with a head harder than reinforced concrete. But Owen Schmitt, who now plays for the Seahawks, deserves -- and will receive -- no excuses or explanations or benefits of the doubt from us. Only two days after Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended indefinitely Browns receiver Donte’ Stallworth for killing a man while driving drunk, Schmitt filled his body with enough alcohol to result in more than twice the legal limit of it invading his blood. And then Schmitt got behind the wheel of a car. But for the grace of God, Schmitt -- and most of the NFL players who have driven drunk before him -- did not kill anyone. In our view, a significant penalty for drunk driving shouldn’t attach only to players who end up claiming a life. The NFL should treat all drunk drivers the same, because any of them can, in theory, commit manslaughter. As a result, we think that Stallworth should be suspended for a year, that Schmitt should be suspended for a year, and that any other NFL player who drives drunk should be suspended for a year. The Stallworth case convinces us that Goodell needs to take decisive action that will convince these men of considerable means to ensure before they begin to impair their judgment with alcohol that they’ve made advance arrangements to get home. And, in our view, what Schmitt did is far more stupid than what Stallworth did, because Schmitt was in position to learn from Stallworth’s mistake.