Oct 23, 2011; London, ENGLAND; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell attends the NFL International Series game between the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

A recent rash of drunk driving arrests, including one for Viking fullback Jerome Felton, has prompted a memo from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. That memo, obtained by CBSSports.com, is essentially a stern lecture about the need for guys to behave responsibly, and a reminder to teams about the PR damage that can result from these incidents.

There have been several negative law enforcement incidents in recent months involving both players and non-player employees. These incidents primarily have involved alcohol or drug-related offenses, specifically driving while impaired. Clearly, operating a vehicle under the influence of any substance poses a significant risk of injury to the driver and others. These risks are underscored by well-known tragedies within the NFL family.

The Personal Conduct Policy makes clear that we must all conduct ourselves in a manner that is “responsible, that promotes the values upon which the league is based, and is lawful.” Every negative incident undermines the respect we have earned from our fans, erodes the confidence of our business partners and threatens the continued success of the league.

As your club concludes its mini-camp, it is essential that you take time to reinforce this message with your staff and players. In particular, the following points are suggested:

Be responsible. If you choose to go out for drinks, make arrangements for a designated driver or “safe ride” service. Remember that law enforcement is aggressively protecting the public from the dangers of impaired driving. DON’T TAKE CHANCES.

Know the environment. Avoid trouble spots and places that don’t provide adequate security. Don’t try to provide your own “security” by carrying a weapon.

Use available resources. A variety of resources are available to help you. Contact your Director of Player Engagement, Security Director, the NFLPA at (800) xxx-xxxx, or the NFL Security Department at (800) xxx-xxxx for assistance.

Note Goodell’s specific mention of “safe ride” services. Mike Freeman reported recently that the original NFL safe ride service, which was started several years ago, was shut down because it was too slow and wasn’t available in all cities (and because some in the union feared the league might use it to spy on players). A new service was set up by the NFLPA in partnership with a private investigation firm and charges players $85 for its use. 85 bucks seems like a small price to pay to avoid a big NFL fine or even a suspension, not to mention jail time.

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March 25, 2012; Palm Beach, FL, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during an press conference at the annual NFL meetings at the Breakers Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

At some point on Thursday a phone meeting will be held between Minnesota governor Mark Dayton, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Steelers president and league stadium committee chairman Art Rooney II. The purpose of this meeting is not to set up a camping trip to Lake of the Woods. The purpose is to further impress upon Dayton the importance of hammering out a Vikings stadium bill before the end of the current legislative session. OR ELSE.

Today’s meeting will be a follow-up to a Wednesday phone call in which Mr. Goodell told Mr. Dayton that the Minnesota legislature’s failure to get a stadium bill rolling this year would bring about “serious consequences.” Serious consequences? Whatever could that mean? NFL hatchet man Eric Grubman won’t say precisely. “I don’t know if that means a sale. I don’t know if that means a move. You have a very dejected ownership,”  was all Grubman would tell the media.

And where is Zygi Wilf in all this? The same place he has been during much of the stadium process: standing on the sidelines letting other people do his tough talking for him. First it was the L.A. stadium people with their endless insinuations about a potential move, which the Vikings tellingly never outright refuted. Then it was stadium front man Lester Bagley and his vague threats. Now it’s Goodell and Rooney.

Goodell’s promise of “serious consequences” was the most overt threat so far. But will this kind of stuff actually work with the legislature? Bluster from the commish doesn’t change the realities of the situation on the ground. The stadium bill failed to get through committee, as I understand it, because not enough members of said committee felt they had the political cover necessary to vote yes.

Politicians as we know are the most supremely gutless form of life on planet earth. They won’t do anything until they feel the risk to themselves is sufficiently minimized. Someone with a keener political mind than mine will have to explain how any words from Goodell or Rooney or Grubman or even Wilf can effect sufficient change to the current Minnesota political topography to give these weasel legislators the cover they think they need. Would outright bribery help?

This muscle-flexing is fun and it makes for good blogging but in the end, what will it accomplish? All this does is lay the groundwork for the Vikings to move if they feel they have to. This effort allows Zygi Wilf to say “We did everything we could in Minnesota but it didn’t work out.” They’re maneuvering the politicians into position to get the blame when/if the trigger has to be pulled on a move. In other words, they’re playing the politicians’ game.

There’s too much labyrinthine political crap going on here for me to even bother getting my head around. My position is the same as it’s been all along: hammer out a deal any way you have to, then get back to me. Riding the roller coaster of hope and disappointment is ultimately as pointless as Goodell’s telephonic strong-arming. The deal will get done or not get done due to the same on-the-ground machinations that always determine these things. Deals being cut. Concessions being made. Favors being called in. Arms being twisted. If you’re a fan, why sweat it day in and day out?

The surface stuff is all show for the media and voters anyway. These political games are 1% about getting things done and 99% about people putting themselves in position to either take credit or avoid blame. Goodell could ride to Minneapolis on a horse like Clint Eastwood and threaten to put a bullet through Mark Dayton’s heart and it wouldn’t matter a lick. If the stadium happens, it will be because somebody goes to somebody in a smoky room someplace and says the right numbers.

Maybe one day we’ll hear the real story about what happened, in somebody’s memoir perhaps. That might make for a good story. This current stuff is just filler.

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Jan. 2, 2011; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe (5) against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE

Chris Kluwe is known for his great sense of humor, but he doesn’t joke around when it comes to issues of player safety. When Kluwe thought the NFL wasn’t doing enough to protect punters? He ripped the league via whiteboard. When he thought Kerry Meier of the Falcons took a cheap shot at his long-snapper Cullen Loeffler? He called Kerry Meier an “a**hole” and a “f***ing douchepickle.”

But those were small controversies compared to the firestorm currently raging in the wake of Bountygate. At heart, the Bountygate flap is about player safety. The NFL is constantly touting its efforts to take care of player health, particularly when it comes to head injuries, but that new image is in jeopardy thanks to the news about the Saints’ bounty system. The NFL wants us to think it’s forward-minded when it comes to protecting players, but Bountygate makes the league look as barbaric and backward as it was during the 1950s. This is a major issue for Roger Goodell who is clearly trying to clean up the game’s image with his aggressive approach to discipline.

Chris Kluwe gets all this. Appearing on the Football & French Toast podcast, the punter discussed the safety and image issues underlying the whole Bountygate controversy. “It threatens the image of the game,” Kluwe said. “When you look at an NFL game…you don’t want to think that guys are out there actively trying to hurt each other. NFL’s a violent game. We all know the risks when we step on the field. Granted, as a punter, I don’t face those risks quite as much as other people. At the same time there’s a chance a guy’s going to hit you, injuries happen, that’s part of the game, that’s why people are interested in it. But what people aren’t interested in seeing, unless they’re sadistic twisted people, is guys that are actively trying to hurt other people. That’s not part of what makes the NFL the most popular sport in America.

“As a player you don’t want to believe guys are out there trying to hurt other guys,” Kluwe added. “It’s a dangerous game and that’s without trying to hurt other people. You’re in a lot of vulnerable positions and it’s really an issue of trust. Players have to be able to trust each other that if you’ve got a guy in a vulnerable position…you have to trust that a guy’s not going to dive into your knee and end your career. Because if that starts happening teams are going to retaliate. Then all of a sudden it starts escalating and you get superstars that are done.”

Clearly Kluwe believes the bounty system is poisonous to the NFL both image-wise and in terms of the vital trust that must be maintained between the players if they’re going to come out of it all in one piece. But what would he do to assure such practices are done away with once and for all? Kluwe favors harsh punishment for the Bountygate perpetrators. Former Saints DC Gregg Williams and current player Jonathan Vilma have already admitted to their participation. Vilma in fact confessed to offering a $10,000 bounty on Kluwe’s former teammate Brett Favre before the NFC title game. Kluwe would come down hard on both those men. He told Football & French Toast, “I think that Vilma and Williams should be banned from football for life. And any of the guys that took money on a hit that injured someone should be suspended for at least a year.” Kluwe added, “You have to make a serious example out of what has gone on here.”

Strong opinions from Kluwe. I wonder what all the tough guy old school guys think of his thoughtful takes. There are plenty of people saying Bountygate is no big deal and that it’s just football. Even Brett Favre himself brushed the whole thing off, insisting he’s not “pissed” at the Saints for injuring him. But clearly there are some players who understand the many dilemmas presented by such practices. Now it falls to Roger Goodell to decide what the proper punishment is for this highly-publicized transgression. If Roger is true to his Judge Roy Bean image, Williams, Vilma and the Saints organization are going to be feeling some pain in their pocketbooks.

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