The NFL Has an Image Problem

I'm not going to talk about deflate-gate this morning, but it's part of a bigger issue the NFL is now facing.

The Rice and Peterson domestic violence cases this year were just part of the problem as well.

In the last week alone Johnny Manziel, who has a long, long history of alcohol abuse said he has hit rock bottom and decided to check himself into rehab. His teammate, a wide receiver, has now been suspended for a year for the same problem, one he refuses to admit IS a problem. And the antics of Marshawn Lynch, both on and off the field, is causing the NFL a great deal of concern. He says he has started a foundation to help youth, but in reality he just tells them to oppose authority, because it's the only way to get what you have coming. This is not the message that society wants sent. This is not the identity the NFL wants to present either.

And then there's yesterday. THREE different NFL players were arrested. One for getting into a fight over a parking space which resulted in a guy, not the football player, getting his face punched in. The other two involved having way too much marijuana in states where NO marijuana is legal.

The bigger news item of the three involved former Viking and current Green Bay Packer  Letroy Guion being picked up with 12 ounces of marijuana, $192,000 in cash, and a loaded firearm down in Miami. It doesn't matter where you stand on the current marijuana laws in the United States, Guion got caught looking like a major drug DEALER, not just a user.

His ONE year deal with the Packers had just expired and he had yet to sign an expected long-term deal. There is every indication that the Packers will now simply discontinue negotiations with him. He's got both criminal charges and league discipline issues to look forward to now, and the Packers really don't want to go along for the ride.

And even though the NFL says it's starting to learn its lesson on who they should and should not draft because of character issues, everyone's expected number one draft pick this year in the NFL is Florida State's Jameis Winston, the man with one of the worst reputations in college history.

You see, you'd hate to be the team that passed on Winston if he turns out to be as good as scouts are predicting he is going to be.  Me personally? I kind of like the idea that the Vikings have Teddy Bridgewater and not Johnny Manziel or Jameis Winston.

But then again, I'm used to losing in Minnesota.