Personal Conduct of Athletes in the National Football League

This article discusses the importance of personal conduct of athletes in the National Football League (NFL) for the image of the professional sports team and also for the sport’s governing body. It highlights the case of Ezekiel Elliott, a running back player for the Dallas Cowboys who was suspended for six games without pay for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The article also discusses the NFL’s communication to Elliott and the harsher rules introduced for players and league employees implicated in domestic abuse cases.

Running Head: SPORTS ORGANISATION 1
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Personal Conduct.
Personal conduct is how an individual behaves in public or private life. The personal conduct of
athletes in sports in the game or outside the game is important for the image of the professional
sports team and also for the sport’s governing body.
The issue of personal conduct of athletes in the National Football League (NFL) has the potential
to damage the reputation of the team the player represents and the National Football League that
manages the American football league. A case in point is the case of Ezekiel Elliott a running
back player for the Dallas Cowboys who was suspended for six games without pay for violating
the league’s personal conduct policy (Miragaia, Brito & Ferreira, 2016).
The NFL in a yearlong inquiry, reached its verdict after going over Elliott’s behavior through a
six-day bit in July two thousand and sixteen whereby his ex-girlfriend Tiffany Thompson blamed
him of hitting her in five intervals in Columbus, Ohio whereby he was performing at the state of
Ohio. Elliott wasn’t under arrest or charged since prosecutors determined that Thompson’s
testimonials conflicted with that made by Elliott as well as witnesses. Nevertheless, he remained
to be punished by the NFL (Griffiths, Armour & Cushion, 2018).
The NFL’s communication to Elliott similarly cited an occurrence in a St. Patrick’s Day
procession in March, whereby Elliott took down a lady’s shirt and uncovered her breast, equally
reflecting “disrespect for women” besides suggesting a “form of poor decision’s and behavior.”
Jerry Jones the owner of the Cowboys has repeatedly protected Elliott who is twenty-two years,
recently stating that his evaluation of the circumstance suggesting “not a thing that ensured there
is domestic violence.”

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But as stated by the NFL statement, Todd Jones, the NFL’s special advisor for conduct, notified
Elliott through a communication that the NFL’s group of consultants “Viewed that there remains
substantial and convincing evidence supporting the verdict that Elliott was involved in a physical
fight against Ms. Thompson in several occasions during that week of sixteenth July the year two
thousand and sixteen.”
The NFL’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, consulted four consultants on the incident that is Peter
Harvey, the previous attorney general the state of New Jersey, Ken Houston, a Professional
Football Legend, Tonya Lovelace, the C.E.O. of the Women of Color Network and Mary Jo
White, a previous United States lawyer besides chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (Houlihan, 2014).
The NFL said it interrogated in excess of a dozen observers, including Thompson besides Elliott,
as a fragment of its examination, and examined graphic evidence plus thousands of written
messages and additional electronic communication.
Elliott’s attorneys, Frank Salzano plus Scott Rosenblum, issued a statement via Tom Pelissero of
the NFL Network, stating “the NFL’s results are full of factual inaccuracies plus erroneous
conclusions.” They further said, “During the forthcoming weeks and via the petition a number of
additional reliable and controverting proof will be revealed.”
Peter Harvey told journalists on a symposium call that the National Football League had access
towards forensic electronic proof that prosecutors didn’t have, as stated by The Associated Press.
More or less of the clarifications submitted by Elliott’s lawyers, he said, comprised the
likelihood that Thompson stood injured in a combat with a lady or by tumbling down the stairs,
was unproven (Parnell, Spracklen & Millward ). “There is not a doubt that you plus Ms.

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Thompson stayed together in a similar place on the days identified, and not any evidence to
propose that anyone different could have triggered these injuries,” the communication said.
The NFL enthralled withering censure for its treatment of a home violence case in two thousand
and fourteen involving previous Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice, who originally received a
dual-game suspension after being charged with hitting his girlfriend, who is today his spouse.
Only after the audiovisual appeared of the case, whereby Rice stunned his fiancée inside the
elevator of a nightclub, did the National Football League suspend him until further notice
(Hutchins & Boyle, 2017).
Confessing that he indeed mismanaged the situation, Roger Goodell fixed the NFL’s personal
conduct rule, introducing harsher rules for players besides league employees implicated in
domestic abuse cases by authorizing six-game deferments instead of double for first-time
lawbreakers (Wallis, 2015).
In conclusion, this issue has impacted the National Football League in a major way by showing
the public and the fans of American Football that the NFL does not condone such acts that have
tarnished the name and image of American Football by imposing a painful punishment to its
players. The players are the team’s ambassadors and they represent the NFL in everything they
do so it’s important for the players to conduct themselves in a manner that is morally right.

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References.
Griffiths, M. A., Armour, K. M., & Cushion, C. J. (2018). ‘Trying to get our message across’:
successes and challenges in an evidence-based professional development programme for
sports coaches. Sport, education and society, 23(3), 283-295.
Houlihan, B. (2014). The Government and Politics of Sport (RLE Sports Studies). Routledge.
Hutchins, B., & Boyle, R. (2017). A community of practice: sports journalism, mobile media,
and institutional change. Digital Journalism, 5(5), 496-512.
Miragaia, D., Brito, M., & Ferreira, J. (2016). The role of stakeholders in the efficiency of
nonprofit sports clubs. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 27(1), 113-134.
Parnell, D., Spracklen, K., & Millward, P. (2017). Sport management issues in an era of
austerity.
Wallis, J. (2015). Introduction. In Becoming a Sports Coach(pp. 13-20). Routledge.