CAN’T STAND PAT, NFL
Goodell must be harsh if Kraft allegations prove to be true
At first it may have seemed funny, a sort of karmic justice for the owner of a championship NFL franchise, considered the most powerful man in the league.
But the allegations against Patriots owner Robert Kraft, which he has denied, are deeply disturbing.
Kraft is charged with two counts of soliciting sex as part of a human trafficking ring run through a Florida massage parlor. According to NBC’s Tom Winter, law enforce- ment says there’s video.
This isn’t consensual sex for money. The women have been forced to comply with traffickers in this case, according to law enforcement. It’s exploitation, and it doesn’t require that the situation be explained to Kraft when he walks in the massage parlor door. When people take part in illegal activities, they are taking a risk that they might be lied to, or that the women they meet may not be participating in sex acts of their free will.
If these allegations are true, Kraft doesn’t belong in the league anymore. He doesn’t deserve the victory parades and the cheering masses. And if commissioner Roger Goodell really cares about protecting the shield, he’ll have to bite the hand that pays him for the good of the league. Ultimately it’s because the NFL is bigger than one person, even Kraft, and you can’t have any integrity if the players have to meet one standard, and the owners get a pass.
Let’s be frank: These allegations are a much bigger deal than kneeling before a football game to protest racial injustice in community policing.
If the NFL is concerned about its image, it needs look no farther than its owners. You know them, the (for the most part) good old boys who will have to ante up for a settlement with Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid over a peaceful protest.
Those owners, who tell players to stay out of politics while forking over millions for President Trump’s inauguration committee.
It’s a double-standard to be sure. In truth, some of the owners continue to give the NFL a bad name. Here are just a few examples.
Former Panthers coach Jerry Richardson was forced to sell the team after allegations of sexual harassment within the team offices. Colts owner Jim Irsay was fined $500,000 and suspended for six months after he pleaded guilty to a DUI. Around the time of his arrest, a woman was found dead of an overdose in a condominium Irsay purchased, according to the Indianapolis Star. And although it seems like a long time ago, photos of married Dallas owner Jerry Jones were posted online showing him fondling women identified as strippers.
Dan Snyder’s Washington cheerleaders were encouraged to pose topless for a photo shoot where sponsors and ticketholders were ushered close enough to watch.
Exploitation comes in different forms.
These Kraft allegations go to the heart of an issue the NFL struggles with, and it’s about respecting women. Whether it’s clearing the minimum wage threshold for cheerleader pay (which NFL teams only did en masse only after lawsuits were filed) or putting women in leadership roles, the league has a lot of ground to make up.
The league’s efforts here are undermined by ownership. There are owners who don’t want to go along with a league plan to increase the roles for women in coaching and scouting. There are owners who don’t appear to mind picking up players who have been cut from other teams over violence against women.
Goodell needs to get the teams to fall in line with what he’s trying to accomplish from the league office. It’s nice to have a tagline about getting more women involved, but there is really only one way to send a message.
Theoretically the owners and the players are subject to
the same code of conduct. In fact, the code states that executives and owners are held to an even higher standard. That could mean a six-month suspension for Kraft if — and it’s an important if — the allegations and charges are confirmed.
Goodell and any owners who don’t want to be tainted by these alleged actions need to investigate and send a message. You can’t appeal to women if owners exploit them without consequences, whether that is on the field, as employees or even in their private lives. It’s inauthentic, and it’s insulting.
NFL teams require loyalty, and that’s why these kinds of cases are problematic. Take a look at social media and you’ll find many fans will saying that Kraft has been victimized, or they may conflate human trafficking with prostitution. Fans will be looking for ways to deny the horror of this alleged crime and the victims that suffer from enslavement, out of loyalty to their team.
We’ve seen it happen before.
This time, the NFL should act before anyone has to see the videotape.