What if Jim Irsay were a Colts linebacker? NFL players want to know.
Irsay, the Colts linebacker, was arrested March 17 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He faced four felonies. Police said he had numerous prescription pills and a briefcase with $29,000 in cash with him in the car. Irsay checked into rehab the following day.
On Friday, Irsay was formally charged with two misdemeanors: one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and one count of operating a vehicle with a schedule I or II controlled substance or its metabolite in the body.
Still, renowned disciplinarian Roger Goodell has yet to deliver a potential punishment for the Colts owner, one which NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith suggested he believes the commissioner already would have handed down if a player had run afoul of the personal conduct policy.
“The commissioner understands that there is a significant credibility gap that exists in the National Football League,” Smith said to ESPN. “What troubles our players is the speed and the deliberateness of the punishment that they have seen in the past when it comes to a player, there isn’t the same speed or deliberate action when it comes to an owner, and that’s a problem.”
NFLPA President Eric Winston told TheMMQB.com the players are watching how Goodell handles the situation.
“Owners own for decades,” Winston said. “Players, if we’re lucky, might play for a decade. If protecting the shield is the most important thing, and owners are the ones most responsible for the league’s future, the owners have to be held to a higher standard.
“So I don’t understand how we can be talking about comparing the punishment of a player to what the league might do to an owner. Owners should be held to the highest of standards. And I can tell you, players are watching. A lot of players are watching. This has been on players’ minds for quite a while.”