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Article: NFL could learn from Cowboys

Angus

By Angus
in Around the NFL

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Angus

Angus

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NFL could learn from good 'Boys

By CHAREAN WILLIAMS

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Michael Irvin once was the poster child for the NFL's bad boys. Now, with age on his side, Irvin looks back and sees the cost. He pays it every day.

"Young guys need all the help in the world to help them understand the depth of what's happening," said Irvin, a born-again Christian. "When you're 23, 24, 25, you don't think you will regret the things that you are doing. I'm 41, and I'm telling you -- it's what I tell these guys all the time -- you are so going to regret this.

"First of all, nobody is going to let you live it down. Every time you walk in a room, this is what they're thinking about. You don't think this when you're young, because you have that 'I'm invincible, and I can overcome anything.' That mentality and that attitude is what makes you great on the football field. But the reality is: People do not have short-term memories. Now, they may let you move past things, but they don't let you forget things."

In 1998, two years after Irvin pleaded no contest to cocaine-possession charges, the Cowboys hired Calvin Hill as a consultant. Since then, the team's player-development department has become an NFL model.

The Cowboys are one of 15 teams (out of 32) without a player arrest this calendar year, thus avoiding mention on the police blotter standings initiated by Sports Illustrated and profootballtalk.com.

"When we were having success, yet at the same time being criticized for bad decisions off the field, we did try to put in place behavior-oriented professionals," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "It has been effective. One of the things that it does is it says to our fans, as well as to our players, that it's a high-priority area for us. We're paying attention. We've got keen sensitivity to it. We want to prove that, while we're not trying to be a judge and jury, that we understand our responsibility."

More than 50 NFL players have been arrested in the past 15 months, including six since March 25. The Cowboys have had only one in 15 months, and they quickly cut defensive back Marcus Coleman after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in November.

The Cincinnati Bengals had nine players in trouble with the law last season, and even the Indianapolis Colts, whose coach, Tony Dungy, championed doing things "the right way" during Super Bowl week, haven't been immune. The Super Bowl champions have had four players arrested since Jan. 3, including running back Dominic Rhodes, who since has signed a free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders.

With the NFL under external and internal pressure to do something about its lawbreakers, commissioner Roger Goodell is promising to unveil a strong code-of-conduct policy before the April 28-29 draft. Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones, who has had 10 encounters with police since he was drafted two years ago, and Bengals receiver Chris Henry, arrested four times from December 2005 through June 2006, likely are the first to face disciplinary action, having met separately with the commissioner Tuesday.

"I don't like it," Goodell said last week at the NFL owners meetings. "I think it's a bad reflection on the National Football League. To some extent, I think it's how we react to it, and making sure that people understand it's not what the National Football League represents. I don't believe it represents our players. I think it's a very few number of players, and I think they're tainting the league and tainting the other players. We intend to try to get to it as quickly as possible and try to remove it."

After Hill was hired from the Cleveland Browns nine years ago, the Cowboys pioneered many of the educational programs Goodell has mentioned initiating. Among other things, the Cowboys have an orientation for their rookies, which supplements the league-mandated rookie symposium.

The Cowboys' player development department now has director Steve Carichoff, Hill and Dr. Jacqualene Stephens, a psychologist.

"The idea is not to be a crutch but to help them understand they are responsible, and there is a great deal of responsibility in being a Dallas Cowboy," said Hill, a running back for the Cowboys from 1969-74. "We want to make sure they understand how to handle themselves, how to handle the money, how to handle the fame.

"... The NFL has changed since I played. The microscope is a lot more intense; society is a little different; the money is a lot more. There are more challenges, more temptations and more opportunity for things to go wrong than there were 30 years ago."

Irvin, voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February, can attest to that. One of the hardest things he has had to do is to explain his past to his children.

"When you hit Google, it's the first stuff that comes up," Irvin said, "and your kids are going to hit Google. The days of moms and dads doing things and their kids never finding out, those days are gone. The Internet won't allow parents to lie any more.

"That's what I would tell those guys: If you don't think about yourself, think about your kids. Because, I'm telling you, when they're old enough they're going to ask: Daddy, why? Daddy, what does this mean?"

http://www.star-telegram.com/332/story/58853.html

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chaos

chaos

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Irvin was caught with a pipe about 2 yrs ago and said it wasn't his. If he's born again, then I'm JC himself.

:laugh: :applause: i was thinking the same thing when i read the beginning. Rocks! Shazaam!

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Rocky21

Rocky21

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:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I laughed all the way through that article.

The record of the born again Michael Irvin:

1996: charged with misdemeanor possession of over an ounce of marijuana and felony possession of 10+ grams of cocaine

1997: accused by a 23-year-old Dallas woman of holding a gun to her head while teammate Erik Williams and a third unidentified man raped her

1998: sliced teammate Everett McIver's neck in a fight during training camp; McIver was said to have been paid off by Jerry Jones to not bring charges against Irvin

2000: charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana

2001: charged with felony possession of cocaine

2005: arrested on an outstanding warrant for speeding in Irving, TX after being pulled over for speeding in Plano, TX. Also charged with drug paraphernalia possession after police searched his car and found a drug pipe and plastic baggies with marijuana residue.

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TonyRomoProBowl

TonyRomoProBowl

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Wow, no bias in this piece.

But what does bias have to do with this. What kind of statement is that, why try to discredit something, that is positive...Love it or hate it...it is a good thing that a team has ZERO arrest in the past year, its a shame that there is only 15 teams that can say that...just a flat out shame IMO

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Fred Jones

Fred Jones

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But what does bias have to do with this. What kind of statement is that, why try to discredit something, that is positive...Love it or hate it...it is a good thing that a team has ZERO arrest in the past year, its a shame that there is only 15 teams that can say that...just a flat out shame IMO

Not debating that only 15 teams in the NFL had no arrests. Not debating that the pukes had none in the past year.

However, using the anti-citizen example that is Irvin to begin article is humorous at best.

Also, the pukes have had their share of problem players in the past just like every other team.

Lastly, the article had a pro puke bias to it. It was not an article written about the general NFL. However, by your comments you didn't see that. I guess that is your loss.

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OWUeagleMD

OWUeagleMD

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But what does bias have to do with this. What kind of statement is that, why try to discredit something, that is positive...Love it or hate it...it is a good thing that a team has ZERO arrest in the past year, its a shame that there is only 15 teams that can say that...just a flat out shame IMO

I don't know. Of course arrests should be avoided, but I think the general public is guilty of being a bit reactionary right now because of the highly publicized problems of the Bengals and Pac Man Jones. Again, breaking the law is always bad, but the fact that 15 out of 32 teams have had an arrest in the last year isn't the most unfortunate news I've heard in the last hour, let alone something that I feel deserves as much attention as it currently receives.

I played college lacrosse at a school of less than 3,000 students. If held to the same standard-- arrests within a year-- I don't know if there would have been a single program at the school that would have come out with a clean... umm... nose. This is a privileged private school with a good reputation. I think there are a number of socio-economic factors that make us believe the NFL has a serious problem.

I'd be interested to see what the numbers would be if it only took into account the crimes I would subjectively categorize as "serious."

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Jeremiah_Johnson

Jeremiah_Johnson

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:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I laughed all the way through that article.

The record of the born again Michael Irvin:

1996: charged with misdemeanor possession of over an ounce of marijuana and felony possession of 10+ grams of cocaine

1997: accused by a 23-year-old Dallas woman of holding a gun to her head while teammate Erik Williams and a third unidentified man raped her

1998: sliced teammate Everett McIver's neck in a fight during training camp; McIver was said to have been paid off by Jerry Jones to not bring charges against Irvin

2000: charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana

2001: charged with felony possession of cocaine

2005: arrested on an outstanding warrant for speeding in Irving, TX after being pulled over for speeding in Plano, TX. Also charged with drug paraphernalia possession after police searched his car and found a drug pipe and plastic baggies with marijuana residue.

In Irvins defense, all but one of those incidents happened before he was "born again". And the one that did happen (2005) he said it was a freind of his.

So if any of you are on the fence about it, at least know the facts.

That being said, I live here in Dallas, and I've run into him a time or two, and hear stories from around town.

I don't believe he's changed a bit, but thats just one mans opinion.

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bubba9497

bubba9497

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Why isn't the Redskins mentioned?

They didn't have a player arrested last season, nor the season before that, not since Taylor's rookie off season, and even that had dubious circumstances over what REALLY happened. Even Taylors DUI was thrown out for lack of eveidence, his rookie season and before that you have to go to Bruce Smith being arrested for wreckless driving during Spurriers years for the next person arrested while playing for the Skins... and that too was dismissed

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