A Stench in Pro Football

Twice in two months, National Football League players have been charged with murder. Ray Lewis, a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, is accused in the fatal stabbing of two men outside an Atlanta nightclub at 4 a.m. Monday, the morning after the Super Bowl. On Dec. 14, Rae Carruth, a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, was charged with murder in the shooting death of a woman pregnant with his child.

They are not the first pro athletes to face the possibility of jail time for violent actions off the playing surface, but if they are convicted of these crimes they will stand as symbols of the malevolent side of professional sports, where gambling, boozing, drugs and sex have gone over the top.

“Can we separate ourselves from society? Of course not,” NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told reporters covering the Super Bowl. “We can’t predict what NFL players will do any more than we can predict students shooting other students or workers shooting fellow workers.” You’re right on that count, Mr. Commissioner, but your office cannot keep ducking and juking. The NFL faces a crisis of image on and off the field. Club owners who turn away from this issue risk losing faith with the fans. Ask Al Davis what went sour with the Raiders in Los Angeles.

As a starting point, deal with taunting on the field during games. There’s a rule against it. Enforce it. Players are strong but sometimes not too mature. Put the owners together in a conference phone call and explain that on-field provocations are linked, at least in fans’ minds, to off-field criminality.

Change has to come from your office, commissioner. This problem has a stench; clear it up by next season or risk fan reprisals.