wibi said:
What I'm saying is that the NFL wanted to hammer someone for that they have language in place to do so.
I just don't see how using this clause to establish "general awareness" as a major transgression could possibly work. For one thing, it would establish a precedent that any player who is aware of a rules infraction, however minor, that they do not report or otherwise take action to stop is now guilty of "conduct detrimental to the integrity of the league". The scope of this would instantly include dozens if not hundreds of players around the league, and would mandate (as mentioned above) reportage of things like teammate's known PED use, uniform violations, and all kinds of other trivial crap. Obviously this is absurd, and is never going to happen.
Did the NFL have a specific rule about locker room bullying or hazing when the Incognito thing went down?
I don't know, but I think this case is different, because in this case there
is a specific rule on the books regarding the violation that Brady was allegedly aware of. If you used the personal conduct clause to punish Brady, you would end up with the following (clearly absurd) situation:
Actually tampering with footballs = minor infraction, base $25K fine.
Just being aware others are tampering with footballs = Conduct Detrimental to the Integrity of the League, multi-game suspension (presumably)
I mean, this can't happen right? Just think of all the insane implications. Let's say Brady is watching two employees in the locker room illegally deflating balls from behind a one-way mirror or something. At this point he is "aware" of the infraction, and his transgression is considered "conduct detrimental to the league". Then, he walks over to the employees and says "Hey guys! Let me give you a hand with that!", picks up a needle and starts deflating balls himself. Now he is participating in the actual tampering, which there is a specific rule for, and therefore won't fall back to the personal conduct umbrella clause. By assisting with the tampering Brady's trangression is now effectively "reduced" to minor infraction, nominal $25K fine. Craziness!
Look, I'm not saying that it's outside the realm of possibility for Goodell to try to use the personal conduct policy to try to hammer Brady, whether for just the "general awareness" aspect, or more generally. Goodell is a mean, dumb, spineless tool who is a slave to public opinion, and is capable of nearly anything. I'm just saying that if he goes this way, he is going to get utterly destroyed on appeal. Brady is going to have the full power of the NFLPA at his back, and I can see their lawyers easily ripping this shreds without breaking much of a sweat.