Goodell is a wild card in all this. If he does follow through on the potential of threatening punishment to teams that knowingly add problem players then see those players get into trouble, the risk becomes greater. I have my doubts that Goodell will troll that mine field. What legitimately should expose teams to that threat -- trading for or picking up as a free agent a player who has been in trouble while in the NFL? Drafting a red-flagged college player? Having a player accumulate multiple offenses without removing him from the roster?
In at least some instances, I would think there would be legal implications. If a college player went undrafted under that circumstance, might he accuse the league of acting illegally in restraint of trade? I would think a case might be made. If the NFL reinstates Pacman, isn't it saying that he has satisfied the league's policies, is eligible to play? If so, how might a team be punished for adding him to its roster? The NFL has given its tacit approval.
Don't get me wrong... I have some sympathy for the suggesting that teams should be subject to league punishment when they add renegade players, those players then get into trouble, and the league's reputation takes a hit. I can see the logic behind a team being punished in that instance.
But as long as it is the commissioner's responsibility to determine what players are eligible to be on an NFL roster, it seems unfair and potentially troublesome, from a legal standpoint, to punish a particular team that is burned by one of those players.
Serial offenders such as the Bengals surely open for discussion the idea of putting more responsibility on the teams. But the idea looks awfully tricky.
Having said that, the Cowboys are the most high profile team in the league, and that position makes them ripe to be used as an "example." I've always felt that's why a guy like Erik Williams became the poster child for head slaps, why Michael Irvin became the poster child for offensive pass interference, and why Roy Williams has become the poster child for the horse collar.
Because of that, Dallas must be especially careful if there is sentiment in the league to punish a particular team for the actions of a miscreant player. This might be a touch of paranoia -- that I will freely admit -- but I have a feeling that the Cowboys' high profile status would put it among the most vulnerable teams to such punishment, whether fair or not.
