Ralph Paulik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports there remains a degree of ambiguity concerning alcohol-related incidents, mostly because of a sharp divide between the league and NFL Players Association. The sides are engaged in a tug of war over what steps to take in an effort to deter behavior — such as excessive drinking — not specifically covered by the league‘s personal-conduct policy. Currently, teams handle punishment for players involved in alcohol incidents, Steelers‘ union representative Ryan Clark said. Steelers linebacker Larry Foote contends that excessive drinking looms as a potentially greater problem than drugs in the NFL. “From a spiritual standpoint, abusing alcohol leads to a lot of trouble,†Foote said. “It‘s an issue that has to be brought front and center so everyone can understand what‘s going on. “I think some of the younger guys forget the stories about other players involved in tragedies related to excessive drinking. It‘s not just an NFL problem but a problem for everybody who abuses alcohol. In the NFL, we should be able to protect each other, but there has to be awareness of how bad things are.†Clark and Adolpho Birch, the NFL‘s senior vice president for law and labor policy, are hesitant to agree with Foote and argue it‘s difficult to differentiate the degree to which drug and alcohol abuse have impacted the league. “I don‘t know how you can rate which is a bigger problem,†Birch said. “We need to be vigilant because both are serious issues.†“I think maybe the incidents and accidents have increased,†Clark said. “But since I‘ve been in this league, I‘ve known guys to drink. It‘s not regulated by the constitution and the laws. So it can‘t really be regulated in our game. It‘s different than drugs.†Source: The Redzone
well, the players union has been fighting punishments for first time dui's for many years, which the league has wanted to implement.
With all of the alternatives given to players in the form of anonymous phone lines for drivers and whatnot, there is no reason for there not to be punishments for dui's. These idiots need to learn.
But they need to really crack down on the duis because all they have to do is pick the phone up and call a number that they are provided with,and they can get picked up without anybody knowing about it! they need to crack down on this and players hoarding guns more than anything else.
