NFL Personal Conduct Policy Vague Yet Clear

would ever go to bat for a player that it felt was unfairly punished? From what I have seen, the NFL seems to be 100% supportive of everything Goodell does, for better or for worse, while contention only seems to brew from the Player’sUnion angle, which is looking for new leadership anyway…

I wonder what chance there is that the new leadership will be in Goodell’s corner as well?

is he reached a plea deal to which he plead quily to a simple traffic violation—

“Goodell based his decision on the fact that Lynch eventually agreed to plead guilty to a traffic violation, which is not a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Lynch initially faced more serious charges.”

I think the NFL, in a weird way looks at it like a parent with kids. Sure, you’ll be in trouble if you tell me the truth, but lie and you’ll get it twice as bad.

Marshall’s situation, for better or worse, is going to be decided based on a pattern of behavior….Until there is a decision we really can’t compare.

And please, point out in any story here where judgment has been passed at Brandon Marshall. All I have done in stories relating to Marshall is present the facts as we know them, and give an opinion. That’s what a blog is, and that is what I do. Where I feel MHR is different than other places around the web, specifically the MSM sites, is anyone can differ from my opinion and state their own without fear of getting flamed, or worrying about being “new”, or what someone with a higher post count will think. That is why MHR is a postive haven for Broncos fans. That does not mean I will not be critical when I feel the best interests of the team, the organization and the players are being looked out for, by anyone – fans, reporters and players.

I have said, both here and on the podcast that Brandon Marshall is guilty of one thing – making bad decisions. I felt that way after he put his hand through an entertainment center. He has a very important role and responsibility to the team I care for and “cover” on a daily basis and when I feel he isn’t taking that role and responsibility seriously I WILL CALL HIM OUT. I did then. As for any of the police incidents, again, B-Marsh is guilty of making bad decisions. Whether is is the women he associates with, or when he gets behind the wheel of a car, who he gets into verbal altercations with in night-clubs or the way he “plays around” with his family.

MHR has become a trusted news source for Broncos fans. I, as will all the other contributors, will continue to report news that involve Denver Broncos. I’ll reiterate, no one here passed judgment and no one here implied that the latest non-story changed anything within the Marshall situation. It is what it is. The main contention I had were the comments flying around that questioned what the NFL can and cannot do. I posted a portion of the conduct policy to show people exactly how vague, yet crystal clear the policy is.

As or Marshawn Lynch, You can decide not to buy the argument all you want, read Goodell’s quote. He plead guilty to a traffic violation. A minor one at that. For whatever reason, the prosecutor didn’t feel they could prosecute the case. Blame him if you think Lynch got off easy. It’s no different then Marcus Thomas getting “off” when he was pulled over in a car and police found drugs. The NFL just doesn’t suspend based on a singular incident when the facts are unknown or unprovable. That all changes when there are multiple occurrences, a pattern of behavior. What we all don;t know, and I agree with you on this point, is whether the NFL feels, when all these “incidents” are tallied they fall under the “Conduct detrimental to the NFL”. No one here has said it does/should and only Goodell can make that call.

Lastly, the implication that if we discuss this story we are not “true Broncos fans” is completely wrong. if people want to question my thoughts on the roster, fine. If people want to question my take on wins, losses, players, etc. fine. I will not sit by and have people question my “fanaticism” of the Denver Broncos. I hold the Broncos to a higher standard and have high expectations BECAUSE I am such a fan. I will not turn the other cheek when I feel someone who wears the horse on their helmet is not taking that role and responsibility as seriously as I think they should. Anything less would be a disappointment to me as a fan.

MHR does not have an agenda, does not need to sell papers, does not need to create controversy. If Brandon Marshall, or any other player for that matter, wants to avoid this type of publicity, stop making bad decisions. Go to work, go home, study, get better. What Jay Cutler does, what Champ Bailey does, what the TEAM LEADERS DO! I want Brandon Marshall to be a team leader. Hopefully the commissioner makes a decision soon, regardless of how it falls, and when he does I will report it, give my opinion on it, and move on to the season. With B-Marsh or without him, I am a Denver Broncos fan, first and foremost and will always hold the best interests of the Organization near and dear. That is the goal of the site and I think we are doing a damn good job.

that occurred there is a bug that crops up from time to time. It seems to occur when quotes are used to lead off a new paragraph, but it is horribly inconsistent, and has cropped up where no quotes were used at all, anywhere.

Hopefully sbnation (who coded the core tools of this site) will figure it out someday, and get it fixed.

I surely hope you didn’t find anything positive or negative in the post I wrote. I layed out was was reported, and my comments on the issue were absolutely neutral. When I was going to bat for Henry I was still willing to report his shortcomings. I was one of the last members to hold out for Walker until his final spit in the face against our team. But I still reported all the news, pro and con, and gave my opinions. In the case of Marshall, I’ve had mixed feelings depending on the incident. Taken as a whole, I have no strong opinion one way or the other. I challenge anyone to read my post and to point out where I am sticking up for Marshall, or advocating a position against him.

I think a lot of people who support Marshall’s behavior over the last few years might think that any report about misconduct on his part is some kind of media smear. At the same time, covering up such news because “it is a distraction” is favoring the player and irresponsible too. In the end, I made the easy decision to just report what is out there so we can have all of the facts. Bear did a great job with “my facts” by reporting in more detail what the facts of each police call really where, and because of the open discussion our members are better informed. If our members know more than the main stream media sites and news coverage, our site has done our members a service.

Some folks take a side, and are against Marshall. Some folks take a side, and favor Marshall. My opinion is clear. I no longer am willing to make excuses for a guy with a long track record of mistakes, so I’m not for him. At the same time, he hasn’t risen to the level (in my opinion) of me advocating him being booted either, so I’m not against him. However, as Guru says, this is a blog. If and when a member does put up an opinion then that is great. The rules are just to be respectful of those opinions. But in my case, the only opinion I offered was one of nuetrality. That will end when the commissioner’s decision come’s down.

Riding the fence somewhat, I feel really good placing my trust in the commissioner to settle the matter. If Marshall gets off free, I’m happy for his chance to straighten up and for the team to get him as a player for the games he’s in. If he gets suspended, I’m happy that we have a good group of receivers who stay out of trouble and are willing to play ball for the team, and I’ll hope Marshall learns a lesson. It’s a no lose proposition. I’m for the Broncos to move on, with or without Marshall, and to win some ballgames.

I understand what you are getting at. I do. There is no vendetta here. No attempt to judge or convict. I am just not one of those people that pretends things don’t exist until due process takes it course. I wanted no part of Travis Henry after the ‘False positive” test, because it pissed me off that he had put the Broncos in that situation. Innocent, guilty, victim, whatever, my beef with all of this is B-Marsh, by the decisions he has made, has put the organization in a negative light. as a fan, that pisses me off. As for any punishment, we’ll all wait and see and I’ll react to it when it happens.

Just remember, unlike the people that get paid to write for the papers, with no personal interest in the team or its success, we are on the same side. We both want the same thing. The Broncos to win, to succeed. that is what makes MHR different.

I dont think he has been a distration by his current actions. What I mean is he has been quiet (excpet the ticket) and out of the news. But you get some drudge ripoff trying to make a name for themselves and digging up old crap.
Now I agree with most of what you have said.Actually almost all of it, my only contention is for once he is not the cause of all this media attention with recent actions. Its sad when the denver media has to resort to this kind of crap to sell papers