There are plenty of people scratching their heads over the NFL’s and the Giants multiple failures in the handling of the Josh Brown case.
But from Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews’s perspective, it’s hard to square a teammate getting a 10-game ban for a second offensive of the PED policy while an admitted domestic abuser gets one game.
“They always use the words they want to protect the integrity of the game,” Matthews said, via Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com. “I think it is always looked at as the integrity of the football game. Obviously, if somebody makes a mistake like Lane did, or even if somebody does it intentionally if they might try to do something to get an edge, then yes, that can affect a game. So obviously there are some disciplines that should take place.
“But then when we talk about the integrity of the game, and the shield [the NFL logo] . . . you talk about the values that you want to instill in families that actually watch us and look up to us. Then it sends the wrong message that every single time there is an incident with domestic violence or something where there is a physical altercation, especially with a lady . . . it never seems like there is a really big punishment handed down.
“Even with the Ray Rice incident, nothing was really serious until there was public outrage or until the video came out. But my thing is, why do people have to see something for there to be actual steps taken?”
Having empathy and intellectual curiosity would be a good starting point, as well as being good at investigating such instances. The league’s 0-3 on that scorecard at the moment, as more and more people realize how broken their system is.