The NFL Flexes its Muscles

NEW YORK (AP) -- Michael Vick was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday and could play in regular-season games as early as October.

Vick can immediately participate in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games -- if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they would not.

"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," Goodell said in a letter to Vick. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support Vick must show remorse and signs that he has changed before he would consider reinstating him.

"I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a positive role model for others," Goodell added. "I am prepared to offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands."

Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19).
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/07/27/vick.reinstated.ap/index.html?eref=sihpT1

Stallworth Suspended for the Entire N.F.L. Season
The N.F.L.’s summer of malefactors took another turn Thursday, when Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth for the 2009 season without pay. Stallworth, a member of the Cleveland Browns, will be reinstated after the 2010 Super Bowl.

Last March, Stallworth, while driving drunk, struck and killed a pedestrian near Miami Beach, the morning after he had received a $4.5 million roster bonus from the Browns. He pleaded guilty to D.U.I. manslaughter, a felony, and spent 24 days in jail, a light sentence given, in part, because of claims of contributory negligence by the pedestrian, who was not in a crosswalk when he was struck.

After suspending Stallworth indefinitely and meeting with him twice this month, Goodell took a harder line.

“You are clearly guilty of conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the N.F.L.,” Goodell wrote in a letter to Stallworth. “Legal arguments that focus on criminal liability under Florida law do not diminish that damage or your responsibility for your conduct.”

The letter concluded: “Your conduct endangered yourself and others, leading to the death of an innocent man. The N.F.L. and N.F.L. players must live with the stain that you have placed on their reputations.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/sports/football/14stallworth.html