Amid strong indications that Vince Young’s prayers could be answered via the avoidance of a suspension, Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com reports that Young soon will meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Specifically, Goodell said at the annual Rookie Symposium in L.A. that the meeting will occur “sometime in next few weeks.”
Young faces misdemeanor assault charges arising from an incident earlier this month at a Dallas strip club. But the precedent for a first-offense misdemeanor assault currently stands at no suspension, given the experiences of linebacker Joey Porter and receiver Braylon Edwards, who reportedly won’t be suspended in the wake of a 2009 assault allegation to which he pleaded no contest.
The league office fined Porter the amount of a game check, and our guess is that Edwards -- and Young -- will face the same sanction, unless Goodell decides to hold quarterbacks to a higher standard.
Though he said, per Marvez, that a suspension of Young is unlikely, Goodell explained that each case stands on its own.
“I think you have to look at these cases individually and understand them in a way of what are the issues going on with any individual,” Goodell said. “The intent of the [Personal Conduct Policy] is to intervene so you help some individuals make a better decision and avoid these troubles. So when I sit down and look at all the facts around Vince or any other player, you want to make sure they understand that and what the policy was designed to do and more importantly understand the responsibility [of being an NFL player].”
In Young’s case, it won’t take long to look at the facts, because the facts appear in one of the highest-quality surveillance videos we’ve ever seen.