Saints 'bountygate' suspensions: Is Roger Goodell fighting football itself?

In 2010, for instance, he issued a slew of player fines for hard-hitting tackles and sent out a leaguewide memo emphasizing the importance of “teaching safe and controlled techniques, and playing within the rules.”  

In another effort to curb injury, the league changed the rules for kickoffs last season, moving the ball forward five yards and limiting the running start for coverage units. The rule resulted in a huge uptick in touchbacks, and players and coaches complained that it reduced the role of one of the NFL’s most exciting plays. And the NFL may go a step further: rumors have been swirling that the league eventually wants to eliminate kickoffs altogether.

Goodell has been no less forgiving of bad behavior off the field. In 2007, following a particularly bad year for NFL players and the law, he announced a new Personal Conduct Policy for the league, fining and in some cases suspending players for breaking the law. According to a USA Today report, player arrests have gone down in each of Goodell’s years as commissioner, from 79 in 2006 to 62 in 2011.

The Saints bounty case is just the latest in Goodell’s ongoing efforts to change NFL culture. But his detractors argue that football, at its core, is a violent sport, and football players are grown men who know what they're signing up for.

Many current NFL players have been critical of Goodell for the suspensions, though he reportedly consulted the NFL Players Association beforehand. “Next thing you know we’ll be playing two hand touch football #Lame,” tweeted Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush, who played for the Saints when the bounty program was in operation. “I bet you won’t find one NFL Player who agrees with these suspensions.”

What’s more, critics argue, NFL contracts are loaded with performance-based incentives, and hard hits are a huge part of whether or not a team succeeds. The Saints were just doing under the table what the NFL has been encouraging for its entire existence.

Yet the punishments are bound to have an effect. Lost seasons and millions of dollars in salary money are powerful motivators.

"Let me be clear," Goodell said in a statement after issuing Payton’s suspension. "There is no place in the NFL for deliberately seeking to injure another player, let alone offering a reward for doing so. Any form of bounty is incompatible with our commitment to create a culture of sportsmanship, fairness and safety. Programs of this kind have no place in our game, and we are determined that bounties will no longer be a part of the NFL."

Does that mean Goodell is transforming football into something less violent? Perhaps, though that's not entirely clear yet. What is clear is that in the face of a growing number of lawsuits by former NFL players, as well as increasing medical scrutiny over the risk of severe head injuries, neither Goodell nor the NFL could afford to go easy on the Saints.

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