An appearance by Commissioner Roger Goodell on the Netflix pregame show in advance of 49ers-Rams in Melbourne included a box-checking question about the no-contest plea by 49ers owner Jed York on a pair of misdemeanor charges arising from a prostitution-related arrest last month.<\/p>\n
Goodell confirmed that the situation is being \u201clooked at\u201d under the Personal Conduct Policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we get it completed, we\u2019ll obviously make an announcement at that point in time,\u201d Goodell told Netflix host Elle Duncan.<\/p>\n
Other areas of potential curiosity could have included, for instance, why it\u2019s taking so long, given that he resolved the case one day after the arrest? Likewise, it would have been fair to ask whether York will be held to a higher standard than would be applied to a player and, if so, how that may be reflected in the punishment.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a delicate balance, to be sure. The league surely prefers not to shine a spotlight on a source of embarrassment. And Netflix undoubtedly doesn\u2019t want to damage a burgeoning partnership.<\/p>\n
Still, it happened. And the league doesn\u2019t hesitate to bang the drum on playing in the NFL being a privilege, not a right. When player behavior falls short of the league\u2019s standard, consequences are imposed \u2014 often swiftly and rarely equivocally.<\/p>\n