NFL Week 7 Thread -- does Big Ben Love Playing Football, Too?

That is the larger issue - he isn't good enough any more to be such a pain in the ass.

 

I agree with both of you on that last point. The only reason Reed did not get benched for a week is because it would have cost the Steelers a roster spot and possibly a game. It had nothing to do with the bullshit excuse Tomlin gave last week about the distraction coming earlier in the week than Santonio Holmes' arrest last season.

Remember, at this point the NFL has taken no action. It is the Chiefs banning him from team activities.

It is still too simplistic to say this is a reaction only to Johnson's words and Reed's actions. You have to take the histories of both players into account and you also have to acknowledge that Johnson did more than just use the word "faggot." He also criticized his coach.

 

He's always free to say what he wants. It just has ramifications because the business he's employed by wants to maintain a certain image.

 

And once again -- so the NFL is concerned about its image when it comes to some moron saying something stupid but it is not concerned about a moron getting drunk in public and assaulting cops?

That's ridiculous.

 

The NFL has taken no action against either player, at least this time around. If the league steps in with Johnson, his past history is going to be a factor. If you get suspended by the league once, they are going to be less tolerant of any kind of fuck up down the road.

Are there still charges pending against Reed? Doesn't the NFL have a policy of staying out of these things if at all possible until the legal system has had its say (Vick being an obvious, but reasonable, exception).

 

Johnson's punishable offense, and enough for him to conceivably get Keyshawned, is conduct detrimental.