The NFL fined Brett Favre $50,000 for not cooperating with their investigation into accusations over misconduct and sexual harassment. Wait a minute. Since when is Roger Goodell a supporter of due process? Since when does he need proof in order to punish?
Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for being accused of rape. Even the most ardent Big Ben fans admitted that the Steelers' QB had been acting dumb, and putting himself into troublesome situations. But there's no rule against going to bars and hitting on girls. If there were, most of the NFL would be suspended.
I'm not defending Roethlisberger, but he was given a very stiff punishment even though he was never convicted of a crime, nor was he even officially indicted.
Yet Brett Favre decides not to cooperate (even though it's blatantly obvious that he's guilty), and he gets a $50,000 fine. He'll make $16 million in salary this year, so this fine is 0.3% of his income. If a normal working person making $50k a year were fined at this rate, it'd be $156.25, or the same penalty as a small speeding ticket. What would happen to any of us if we didn't cooperate with our employer's investigations into sexual misconduct? Would we get 0.3% of our salary docked?
If I'm James Harrison, or any other player fined for illegal hits this season, I'm going to find some young interns, buy a cell phone with a 10 megapixel camera, and go to town.
My favorite part of all this is Goodell publicizing the fact that he told Favre the punishment would be worse if they found he'd acted up. That's like a State Trooper telling a suspected drunk driver "Are you drunk? If you say yes, you'll be in lots of trouble."
Thankfully, in the public's eye at least, Favre's guilty. Innocent people don't cover their asses like this. Favre has been exposed (in more ways than one) as a dirty old man, as a spoiled baby, and on the field this season he's padded both of his turnover records.
One day, Favre will be enshrined in Canton, and that's sad. He's just an awful person, and the only thing I hate more than him are those few but loud Brett Favre supporters that still pester us with their inane love for this overrated player and utter manwhore.
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