tl;dr a look at all the office does in March and April and all the responsibilities placed on others for getting material into the office on time makes the date of the decision much less suspect. ALSO--Goodell doesn't just make arbitrary decisions such as relapse prevention plans. He is advised by four different reviewing entities before making such decisions.
Originally Posted by
Born2Steel
I can agree completely with this sentiment. I still don't believe it's any personal vendetta against Bryant or the Steelers, just not buying that one. AND I feel like it's all Bryant's fault this is even happening in the first place. However, if there were going to be separate, personalized, player specific, requirements for Bryant's reinstatement, those requirements could have been laid out sooner than April. It doesn't effect the Commissioner's office directly so the Commish waited until the last hour to decide what that requirement would be for Bryant. That part stinks.
I quoted this originally because I read it wrong and thought you were saying it was a vendetta. That clarified (that it isn't), I've been wondering why it would take this long as well. So, I went and looked at what might have been filling his schedule.
First, a timeline.
Late January: Bryant must apply for reinstatement.
January-March: Bryant is responsible for getting all documents, including legal docs, any arrests, and anything else asked for by the league concerning behavior and drug abuse within sixty days.
January-March: Within 45 days of receipt of the application, the Player will be interviewed by the Medical Director and the Medical Adviser, after which a recommendation will be made to the Commissioner with regard to the Player’s request for reinstatement (Appendix B1 of the NFL drug policy).
Let's stop here. Do we know if all documents were submitted in a timely manner by Bryant? Was something missing on accident that he had to later go back and retrieve, then send to Goodell? Do we know if the Medical Director and Medical Adviser documents were submitted in a timely fashion?
Jan-March: The NFLPA and Commissioner's staff both review players substance abuse history and documents, including counseling sessions, 12 step, progess reports, and all diagnostic findings And Treatment Recommendations.
So, that takes us to the end of March. Let us assume all the documents came in two weeks before the 60 days (a reasonable assumption as there are several steps and at least five different parties submitting materials—the player, the Medical Director, the Medical Adviser, the NFLPA, and the Commissioner's staff.) In that scenario, he has had all documents for the last month. What has happened in that last month.
March 9
1. Free agency begins
2. 2017 Salary cap begins
3. All transactions submitted to league goes out to clubs.
March 11
1. NFL Regional combines begin.
March 1-26
1. Preparation of possible rule changes for annual league meetings. That would include reviews, fielding other changes, etc.
2. Preparation of reports for annual meeting.
3. Finalizing investigation of possible move of Oakland to Las Vegas and fielding questions from owners who must vote on the issue.
4. numerous other preparations for the annual board of directors meeting (which the owners meeting is, in many ways).
March 26-29
1. Annual League meeting.
April 3
1. Teams with new coaches can start Offseason program. Decisions to allow these programs must be made by NFL prior to April 3.
On Going Concerns
1. Salary cap consideration through free agent signings
2. NFL draft preparations
3. Any ongoing behind-the-scenes negotiations concerning contracts for advertising, NFL rights for broadcasting, etc.
4. Other things we may not even know about.
Now, you may say, "But wait, the Commissioner isn't involved personally in everything." True, to a point. However, remember that his people are and at least some of them will sit on the review board before it goes to him. Second, he's going to be involved in most of it. Furthermore, virtually everything listed here involves followup.
After looking at this schedule and all the things the commissioner has coming across his desk, I have to say the time it took to make this decision is within the appropriate range, and that is IF everything came to his desk on time. If it didn't, then he's had to wait even longer to get it and make a decision in an even shorter time.
One last thing to note . . . It seems I was wrong. The Medical Adviser and Medical Director, along with the NFLPA and Commissioner's staff make recommendations to the commissioner. The medical people are fully qualified to make referrals concerning drug dependence. Furthermore, my guess is once the referrals come in, there are phone calls to be made back and forth to develop a consensus. Thus, my guess would be that a "how to keep sober" program was the consensus of the four different reviewing entities.
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