Tagliabue: League Is Full of Good Citizens

Capping a week focused on the conduct of Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis related to the stabbing deaths of two men after last year’s Super Bowl, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue addressed the issue of NFL players’ off-field behavior during his annual news conference Friday.

“We are deeply distressed when the misconduct of a player victimizes other individuals,” Tagliabue said. “Our policies reflect this. But the overwhelming number of NFL players are good people and good citizens.”

Lewis was convicted of misdemeanor obstruction of justice, prosecutors having dropped murder charges for his testimony against two co-defendants, neither of whom was convicted.

The public eye has been cast on Lewis at the Super Bowl on the heels of the conviction of former NFL player Rae Carruth, sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for conspiracy to murder his pregnant girlfriend, among other charges.

Another former player, Mark Chmura, is on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl. Chmura formerly played for the Green Bay Packers.

Tagliabue bristled when asked about a radio report claiming that a fifth of NFL players have criminal records.

“Most statements that have been made about criminal records in the NFL have been nonsensical and stupid, including so-called statistical statements,” he said.

“What I do know for a fact is that we track 2,500 players that go to training camp every year, plus every other player who has been with the league in the preceding 18 months. We track 3,000 to 4,000 players every year in terms of criminal misconduct.

“And this year, tracking almost 4,000 players, we have had 26 investigations--not offenses, investigations--and we’ve had 11 convictions out of 4,000 people that we’re tracking. And most of those convictions, putting aside the Rae Carruth case, were minor offenses.

“If the rest of society can do as well as we do in the NFL, America’s crime problem would be well addressed.”

The NFL fined Lewis $250,000 after his case was resolved in court, a penalty that was alternately considered too stiff and too lenient because it stopped short of a suspension.

Tagliabue said he focused on the legal resolution and not speculation, fining Lewis for contact detrimental to the NFL.

“I took into account how that negatively impacted the league, and in particular, how it negatively impacted the other players in the league, and the stereotyping of NFL players,” he said.

Tagliabue also suggested Lewis’ difficulty this week was partly because he has not been media savvy in his responses to questions.

“To me, to some of you, he probably was not as articulate as he might have been.

“He’s tried to focus himself on the field. I think it’s clear to me from my meetings with him . . . that he understands the seriousness of what he allowed himself to be a part of, and he understands his responsibilities and does have a great deal of remorse, compassion, whatever you want to call it, for the victims in that incident.”

Among other topics Tagliabue addressed:

* On minority hiring, with Herman Edwards recently named coach of the New York Jets and Baltimore defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis a candidate for at least two jobs:

“Herman Edwards is the head coach now because of talent. I’ve said many times that what we need to do is what General [Colin] Powell tried to do when he was in charge of the Army--just make sure there are no institutional ways in which the scale is tipped against minorities, that there’s no institutional way in which we have unintentional practices that might be viewed as a deterrent to mobility, and I think we’re getting there on all fronts.”

* On recent fines against Lewis and the Ravens’ 340-pound Tony Siragusa for hits that injured opposing quarterbacks, even though no penalties were called at the time:

Tagliabue said the NFL reserves the right to fine players after video review, and that the league viewed film of such former greats as Reggie White and Charles Haley in determining what was an appropriate hit.

“To be great, to play with passion and greatness, you don’t have to drive the quarterback into the ground. You don’t have to fall on the quarterback with the entire weight of your body. However, when the game was played 50 years ago, you didn’t have 340-pound linemen.”

* On whether it is appropriate for him to express opinions about candidates for the Hall of Fame, as he did in supporting former Buffalo coach Marv Levy and owner Ralph Wilson Friday:

“I know that the selectors will make their decision based upon what they think entitles someone to be in the Hall of Fame, and not what I think. But I also think it’s appropriate for me, when you do have people like Ralph and Art Modell and Marv, for me to have an opinion. Do I expect that opinion to be controlling? No.”

* Regarding former San Francisco 49er owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who was suspended for a year after pleading guilty to a felony in a case involving a Louisiana gambling license.

“I lifted that suspension early last year. If Eddie were to have an interest in owning a team or being part of an ownership group, we would review at the time of any such application his status, just as we do in terms of due diligence for any other applicant.”

However, Tagliabue denied rumors DeBartolo is trying to buy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

* On the XFL, about to make its debut: “Frankly, it’s been a minor aspect of what we worry about, or in many cases it’s just a complete nonissue.”