Dennard Sentenced to 30 days + 100 hours Community Service

[Deus Irae]

ARTICLE 46 - COMMISSIONER DISCIPLINE
Section 1. League Discipline: Notwithstanding anything stated in Article 43:

(a) All disputes involving a fine or suspension imposed upon a player for conduct on the playing field (other than as described in Subsection (b) below) or involving action taken against a player by the Commissioner for conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football, will be processed exclusively as follows: the Commissioner will promptly send written notice of his action to the player, with a copy to the NFLPA. Within three (3) business days following such written notification, the player affected thereby, or the NFLPA with the player’s approval, may appeal in writing to the Commissioner.

This is the jurisdiction with the CBA for the Commissioner to review and to subscribe to the power within Section I of Article 46.

And unlike the New Orleans Saints disaster, there is a public record regarding the Dennard incident, as a member of the NFLPA and the New England Patriots, while in the league.

You're trying to sink your argument in that when it doesn't discuss actions that occured when the party to be disciplined was not yet a signatory to the agreement. I don't know how many ways that can be explained to you before you grasp the significance of that distinction. The Dennard incident occured before he was a member of the NFLPA. You're arguing application of the CBA to prior acts. The section you just quoted does not address that. Furthermore, you missed a part. Let me help you:

This Agreement, which is the product of bona fide, arm’s length collective bargaining, is made and entered into as of the 4th day of August, 2011 in accordance with the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, by and between the National Football League Management Council (“Management Council” or “NFLMC”), which is recognized as the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of present and future employer member Clubs of the National Football League (“NFL” or “League”), and the National Football League Players Association (“NFLPA”), which is recognized
as the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of present and future employee play-ers in the NFL in a bargaining unit described as follows:
1. All professional football players employed by a member club of the National Football League;
2. All professional football players who have been previously employed by a member club of the National Football League who are seeking employment with an NFL Club;
3. All rookie players once they are selected in the current year’s NFL College Draft; and
4. All undrafted rookie players once they commence negotiation with an NFL Club concerning employment as a player.

http://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/collective-bargaining-agreement-2011-2020.pdf

Note the bolded and, especially, the underlined portions.

 

[Joker]

While I must agree with what you put forth Deus, I still have this deep seated distrust of this man...maybe because I've grown cynical with experience, but I expect this man to react to this like he reacts to any other issue where he can flaunt his "authority". His ignorance to the collateral damage he causes for the franchises he attacks is consistently demonstrable. I have asserted that this man exhibits all the classic symptoms of megalomania for years now, and I've yet to be disappointed in that opinion. I believe this Dennard issue is just another red cape waving in front of Bulldell and he will charge headlong into a legal quagmire trying to once again display his "authority".

 

[belichick010405]

You're trying to sink your argument in that when it doesn't discuss actions that occured when the party to be disciplined was not yet a signatory to the agreement. I don't know how many ways that can be explained to you before you grasp the significance of that distinction. The Dennard incident occured before he was a member of the NFLPA.

He didn't need to be a signatory to the agreement when the incident occurred because the incident was followed by a public prosecution while he was in the league which resulted in a public conviction.

The moment Dennard entered into the league and had a public conviction that resulted in a felony while he was in the league, the conviction becomes the motivating factor under the "conduct detrimental to the league" language, in addition to the underlying offense because the underlying offense that led to the public conviction is linked.

Now - had Dennard been found innocent, the Commissioner's Authority would have become moot because Dennard would have proven that he had not conducted himself as a detriment to the league.

 

[Joker]

He didn't need to be a signatory to the agreement when the incident occurred because the incident was followed by a public prosecution while he was in the league which resulted in a public conviction.

The moment Dennard entered into the league and had a public conviction that resulted in a felony while he was in the league, the conviction becomes the motivating factor under the "conduct detrimental to the league" language, in addition to the underlying offense because the underlying offense that led to the public conviction is linked.

Now - had Dennard been found innocent, the Commissioner's Authority would have become moot because Dennard would have proven that he had not conducted himself as a detriment to the league.

Uh...then explain why Goodell did NOTHING as far as Kenrick Ellis goes?

Seems to me that Bulldell should be focusing his beady little eyes on why a player can violently push a referee in a Super Bowl with absolutely ZERO consequence in game or after ...before he tries to take this Dennard issue into court.

 

[Deus Irae]

He didn't need to be a signatory to the agreement when the incident occurred because the incident was followed by a public prosecution while he was in the league which resulted in a public conviction.

The moment Dennard entered into the league and had a public conviction that resulted in a felony while he was in the league, the conviction becomes the motivating factor under the "conduct detrimental to the league" language, in addition to the underlying offense because the underlying offense that led to the public conviction is linked.

Now - had Dennard been found innocent, the Commissioner's Authority would have become moot because Dennard would have proven that he had not conducted himself as a detriment to the league.

Go back and read that post again. I added a bit to clarify it even more for you.

 

[belichick010405]

Uh...then explain why Goodell did NOTHING as far as Kenrick Ellis goes?

Seems to me that Bulldell should be focusing his beady little eyes on why a player can violently push a referee in a Super Bowl with absolutely ZERO consequence in game or after ...before he tries to take this Dennard issue into court.

I don't know enough about the Kendrick Ellis situation and what he did. What I do know is that the NFL is going to frown upon players in the NFL to hit a cop. And btw - not for nothing but had Dennard done this when he was a junior at Nebraska then he probably would have been kicked off of the team regardless of how good he was in Lincoln. Either that or the team or Big 10 would have suspended him.

 

[Joker]

I don't know enough about the Kendrick Ellis situation and what he did. What I do know is that the NFL is going to frown upon players in the NFL to hit a cop. And btw - not for nothing but had Dennard done this when he was a junior at Nebraska then he probably would have been kicked off of the team regardless of how good he was in Lincoln. Either that or the team or Big 10 would have suspended him.

Uh...yeah...I know that. I agree with that. He was part of the team. What team was he actively a part of when this incident occurred? He was charged BEFORE he was drafted. He was NOT a member of any team or affiliated with the NFL in any way at the time of the arrest. Goodell brings this to court he'll get slaughtered...just like he was eviscerated in the Saints case.

edit: and BTW, I am PRAYING that Goodell blindly charges into this like he did the Saints case, honking wildly in the press about what a "slamdunk!" it is....just like he did in the Saints case...whereupon he took a tractor trailer load of eggs to his beady eyed face.

 

[patfanken]

I think both you guys are too caught up in arguing the fine print. Here's the long and short of it. The league office will huff and puff about "investigatig" his incident.....THEN it will do nothing.

The common sense points DI puts out, the murky issue of whether the league has the "standing" plus the complete lack of precedent will cause the league to come to the inevitable conclusion to do NOTHING, but issue a statement iin a couple of weeks, that the after careful investigation, they have decided NOT to suspend Alphonso Dennard. To do anything otherwise would open the league up to a legal ****storm what would be totally without necessity or merit.

In the meantime you two can argue whether the league has standing from now until opening day. The bottom line is, in the real world Alphonso Dennard will be available to Patriots for the rest of his rookie contract

BTW- The Joker is right in this sense. Calling what happened that night a felony is a travesty. And if I were Dennard I'd work hard to get that part of the sentence reversed. However in the end, the actual sentence that came down actually fits the crime. He lost a ton of money. Suffered public embarrassment. Even the 30 day sentence that he'll likely never serve is appropriate, and the community service is something he should be doing anyway.

 

[belichick010405]

Yea - you know what, the Commissioner cannot do a damn thing unless he claims that the conviction as it stands is detrimental to the league because the CBA preamble is clear that Dennard's offense was outside of the time when he was selected by the Patriots.

The Commissioner would have to tread a fine line regarding the public conviction as a detrimental occurrence or action while Dennard was with the Patriots.

And the actions of Dennard were five days prior to the Draft. I would say that is pure luck.

 

[Joker]

Here's the NFL official rules on this...

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/2012+Personal+Conduct+Policy.pdf

scroll down to "other provisions"...

here's the EXACT words..."the policy applies to all players UNDER CONTRACT....all rookie players ONCE THEY ARE SELECTED in the draft".

everything that follows is applicable ONLY after a player is SELECTED in the draft or signed as as a free agent...Goodell has ZERO to stand on...but again...when has THIS ever stopped him?

 

[belichick010405]

Here's the NFL official rules on this...

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/extra_points/2012+Personal+Conduct+Policy.pdf

scroll down to "other provisions"...

here's the EXACT words..."the policy applies to all players UNDER CONTRACT....all rookie players ONCE THEY ARE SELECTED in the draft".

everything that follows is applicable ONLY after a player is SELECTED in the draft or signed as as a free agent...Goodell has ZERO to stand on...but again...when has THIS ever stopped him?

NFL Communications - CBA «

 

[supafly]

I don't know enough about the Kendrick Ellis situation and what he did. What I do know is that the NFL is going to frown upon players in the NFL to hit a cop.

And I'm sure they also frown upon a player who beat someone senseless with a baseball bat, and received an even harsher jail sentence than Dennard did too, as in the case of Kendrick Ellis.

The bottom line is that Goodell couldn't do anything about it due to Ellis not being a part of the NFL at the time, whereas he couldn't be held responsible to a contractual agreement that did not apply to him as far as the CBA goes. What kind of established conduct requirements can you violate if you're currently not even a member of any agreements?

If Goodell tries to dip into unchartered waters by suspending Dennard (by the way, we're arguing over a one/two game suspension here if it even happens) the case will be tied up in the courtrooms and possible appeals so long, it won't have any bearing whatsoever on the 2013 season anyway.

 

[DarrylS]

What did they do to Pete Carroll after all of his NCAA shenanigans while at USC?? Dennard made one stupid "kid"mistake, it is not a pattern of poor behavior. Carroll repeatedly violated the rules of the NCAA... and Goodell did not notice..

I suspect that if Dennard puts himself out there and completes a 100+ hours of community service, keeps his nose clean then he will not do any time. I believe the judge left that option open...

 

[UK_Pat37]

Re: Dennard Sentence

The question remains - will Goodell suspend him?

My feeling is a 30 day sentence shows that the authorities are not making a bigger deal out of this than they should - but leave it to Goodell to decide that the Justice System isn't being hard enough and he needs to suspend a player for something done before they were ever in the NFL

The NFLPA will have a field day if Goodell suspends a player for an incident outside of his employwith an NFL team.

I'd be amazed if he does anything given the huge fact he wasn't in the NFL when this happened. He was still, technically, part of the NCAA (if he hadn't graduated at that point...I don't know their graduation dates).

 

[jmt57]

For what it's worth, another opinion on the possibility of Goodell suspending Dennard:

Words With Frenz mailbag: Alfonzo Dennard ruling and the finishing touches on the Patriots defense - Going Deep - Boston.com

As Greg Bedard pointed out awhile back, the 2012 Personal Conduct Policy clearly indicates that Dennard is not subject to league suspension because he was not yet part of the NFL when the incident took place:

Covered Persons – This policy applies to all players under contract; all coaches; all game officials; all full-time employees of the NFL, NFL clubs, and all NFL-related entities; all rookie players once they are selected in the NFL college draft; and all undrafted rookie players, unsigned veterans who were under contract in the prior League Year...​

 

[belichick010405]

Uh...then explain why Goodell did NOTHING as far as Kenrick Ellis goes?

Seems to me that Bulldell should be focusing his beady little eyes on why a player can violently push a referee in a Super Bowl with absolutely ZERO consequence in game or after ...before he tries to take this Dennard issue into court.

Ok - I just read the Kendrick Ellis incident. Jesus....Yea, the only difference between Ellis and Dennard is that Ellis plead out to a misdemeanor assault and battery of which includes, and this is important, the fact that he did not admit guilt.

Dennard did not plea out and faced a public prosecution resulting in a guilty verdict.

Either way, Goddell would have to use that public prosecution resulting in a guilty verdict as the determinable action permitting to utilize his Commissioner's powers. It is a thin line that he could try and use.

Many attorneys would say that it is very thin.

 

[belichick010405]

Absolutely JMT - But he is now a covered person who just received a pubic conviction which "may" be considered conduct detrimental to the league. Like I said, it is a very thin line....The only, remaining question is if the Commissioner would consider the verdict of guilty as conduct detrimental to the league.

For what it's worth, another opinion on the possibility of Goodell suspending Dennard:

Words With Frenz mailbag: Alfonzo Dennard ruling and the finishing touches on the Patriots defense - Going Deep - Boston.com

As Greg Bedard pointed out awhile back, the 2012 Personal Conduct Policy clearly indicates that Dennard is not subject to league suspension because he was not yet part of the NFL when the incident took place:

Covered Persons – This policy applies to all players under contract; all coaches; all game officials; all full-time employees of the NFL, NFL clubs, and all NFL-related entities; all rookie players once they are selected in the NFL college draft; and all undrafted rookie players, unsigned veterans who were under contract in the prior League Year...​

 

[BrickPat]

Dennard reports to serve his 30 days...with the TWO YEAR suspended hanging over his head...as he's being processed, Buford Pendergraft, jail bailiff and loyal supporter of the KKK going back five generations, slaps Dennard with a backhand in the head...Dennard reacts...HOT DYAM!!! We're a goin' to another hangin'!!!! O dee camptown ladies two by two ..doo dah doo dah.......Dennard gets violated,remanded and forced to serve the ENTIRE TWO YEAR SENTENCE without any chance of parole...pesky 32-F violation(as its known in RI)....yippe ki-ay!!!! mf'ers...Dennard should have been charged with disorderly conduct, fined and given six months probation...just like any other college age kid from any campus I've ever heard of...I'm a white man of Irish/Italian ancestry and I smell the distinct rotting smell of racial bigotry in this case.

2/3 of the rank and file of the KKK is situated in the deep south...the other third is squarely from the midwest, Nebraska ,Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas.If I was Dennard's agent I'd have my lawyers petitioning the court for a change of venue as far as jail time is concerned...let him serve the 30 days up here in Massachusetts.As long as he does his time, why would anybody in Lincoln,Nebraska object to that?

Would you similarly rant about racist conspiracies if Dennard played for the Jets? People typically get arrested when they punch a cop. That one mistake doesn't make Dennard a bad person but to liken his arrest and conviction after due process to a KKK type conspiracy makes you sound like a silly homer.

If Dennard keeps his nose clean the judge has the option of dismissing the 30 days. BTW most people sentenced to 30 days are released in about a week because of overcrowding.

BTW Disorderly Conduct is a breach of the peace offense and, in and of itself, is not applicable to someone assaulting someone (cop or not). Disorderly is not a crime against the person while Assault & Battery is.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Absolutely JMT - But he is now a covered person who just received a pubic conviction which "may" be considered conduct detrimental to the league. Like I said, it is a very thin line....The only, remaining question is if the Commissioner would consider the verdict of guilty as conduct detrimental to the league.

I think people are misinterpreting your point.

The fact is, Goodell has made it clear that he believes that the NFL can penalize players for violations of the conduct policy that took place before they were drafted.

Whether he SHOULD penalize players is another matter for debate. But there is no question that Goodell's own interpretation of NFL rules give him that authority (and his interpretation unfortunately is the only one that initially counts).

There's really nothing to debate about that. He imposed a suspension with Pryor, for activities before he was drafted, and Greg Ailello, the spokesman for Goodell, stated clearly that the League will review the Dennard case.

What does Deus think Goodell is reviewing the case for, if not to consider additional sanctions????

Is this situation the same as Pryor's actions before he was drafted? No.

Is this situation the same as Ellis' misdemeanor before he was drafted? No. It's a felony - so if Goodell felt a suspension was warranted he'd simply cite this as a more serious crime.

Deus seems to want to make the point that if they do fine or suspend Dennard the NFLPA will appeal. While I believe they would likely win, the NFLPA appeals sanctions all the time - and that doesn't mean Goodell has no authority.

If the NFL says they have the authority - and they have - then they do. That doesn't make it right - but since when has Goodell cared about that?

While Goodell could assert that he feels a felony warrants NFL action above and beyond the criminal sentence, I think that the relatively light sentence sends him a message that the justice system looks at Dennard as a good kid who simply made a hot headed mistake.

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: Dennard Sentence

His name is Terrell Pryor - He was suspended by Goodell for five games for violations of NCAA policy (from before he was drafted)

The NFL has already stated they will review the Dennard conviction and reserves the right to take disciplinary action against him under their interpretation of their own NFL conduct policy, which was upheld in their 5 game suspension of Pryor.

So arguments that they can't take action against Dennard because it was before he was drafted have already been rejected by the league office.

NFL will review Dennard conviction under conduct policy | ProFootballTalk

Personally I don't think Goodell has a leg to stand on in Dennard's case but Goodell doesn't tend to care what players or fans think.

But while Pryor's suspension and Dennard's potential suspension are both unique, Goodell's a lawyer and is pretty good at finding some way to justify whatever he wants to do, seeing as he DID suspend Pryor and did NOT suspend Ellis.

If he wants to suspend Dennard all he'd have to do is cite the Felony conviction for Dennard as opposed to what wound up being a Misdemeanor assault for Ellis. That's my worry.

Terrell Pryor's situation was totally different. And this was brought up numerous times. The reason that Goodell "suspended" Pryor the 5 games is because that is what the NCAA had suspended Pryor for. And, in the spirit of good faith and not wanting 3rd year and older College players to jump to the NFL thinking they could dodge NCAA punishments, Goodell set the precedent that he would uphold any NCAA punishments that were given.

In Dennard's case, there was no NCAA punishment. Dennard was also not a member of the NFL at the time. The NFLPA has already said that Goodell has no grounds to punish Dennard since he was not under contract nor had been drafted.

Dennard's case more closely resembles the case of Kendrick Ellis who didn't receive any suspension from the NFL despite pleading guilty and receiving a 45 day jail sentence.