Bad Boys Club

Are NFL Owners Getting Off Easy?

By Paul Newberry // AP Sports Columnist

After Donald Sterling's racist ramblings were exposed to the world, the NBA moved quickly to banish him from the league. Sure, the forced sale of the Los Angeles Clippers made Sterling even richer, but it sent a clear signal that such behavior would not be tolerated, even from the guys with the biggest checkbooks.

Then there's the NFL, which seems content to let its bad boy owners slide with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, no matter how egregious the offense. Tampering with some of the game's biggest names? Suggesting it would be a good idea to lose games intentionally?

No problem says the league which likes to throw around the word "integrity" at every opportunity — except when it really matters. In the eyes of Commissioner Roger Goodell, some mandatory vacation time, a fine that roughly amounts to loose change in the sofa, and surrendering a couple of draft picks should be enough to smooth things over.

That's exactly what Goodell imposed this week on Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, whose conduct was so reckless that it wouldn't have been out of line to shove him out the door — or at least give him a gentle nudge. Of course, in its version of the just-before-the-weekend news dump, the NFL brilliantly unveiled the case against Ross — and it's quite a doozy — while most fans and pundits were fixated on what's next for quarterback Deshaun Watson, who received a six-game suspension for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct during massages.

The NFL appealed, which could have sent the case to Goodell for harsher, more appropriate punishment, but he timidly handed it off to an outside arbiter. The Watson case is bad enough. Ross' shenanigans were also worthy of outrage.

But Goodell would prefer we all just move along from a week of disturbing revelations and get to what's really important: a season that conveniently began Thursday night with the Hall of Fame exhibition game in Canton, Ohio.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

The great and powerful Commish has spoken!!