Read the debate intro and Bleacher Fan’s opinion.
I’m glad that we have decided to address this issue. It’s something that always leaves a lot of questions in Loyal Homer’s mind. Let’s break it down, shall we?
To be suspended indefinitely means, to put it quite simply, to be suspended for an indefinite amount of time. Now, before you accuse me of being a smarty, think about it! Being suspended for an indefinite amount of time puts absolutely no time frame on the suspension. It could be one game, it could be one week, it could be one month, or in the case of Michael Vick, it could be many, many months!
But… is there really anything wrong with that?
Perhaps the commissioner/president of each respective league – whether it’s MLB’s Bud Selig, the NFL’s Roger Goodell, the NBA’s David Stern, the NHL’s Gary Bettman, NASCAR’s Mike Helton or whoever – wants the guilty party to suffer for an UNKNOWN time period. Perhaps the guilty party will think about the violation or crime committed and worry about when they will be allowed to come back to “work.”
The athletes who make themselves vulnerable to punishment need to think about the mistakes they have made and the rules they have broken. Like it or not, they are role models to today’s youth, and that is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. As an athlete, you know when you play sports professionally that you will be judged differently than others. So, deal with it.
Let’s look at Donte Stallworth’s situation. He was responsible for the death of another human being. To his credit, he has been very cooperative with law enforcement. Yes, he will be serving a 30-day jail sentence, but who knows how long of a suspension he will face from the NFL.
If past history is an example, Stallworth will have to show sincere remorse to Roger Goodell before a reinstatement is even considered.
We all hope Stallworth has learned a valuable lesson. I think the ultimate goal of an indefinite suspension is to teach the guilty party a lesson and make sure the same mistakes aren’t repeated. Hopefully, these indefinite suspensions give food for thought to those who have been suspended indefinitely and when they come back, they will have paid their debt to society their league, and learned their lesson!
