Lack Of Action by The NFL on Stallworth & DUIs Destroys Credibility

Others here on the Bleacher Report have addressed the issue of Donte Stallworth and the length (or if you prefer, brevity) of his sentence as a result of the agreed upon plea deal.

What I've failed to see addressed is why the NFL has yet to act in this situation.

By the league's own rules, they do not need to see a conviction in a case in order to issue a ruling/suspension against a player. Pacman Jones knows that personally.  Plaxico Burress was suspended prior to his case being resolved as well - even though he wouldn't have been playing while recovering from his self-inflicted gunshot wound.

And while I'm certain the NFL will suspend Stallworth in the very, very near future, the league's failure to have already acted shows a sign of weakness on criminal behavior that new commissioner Roger Goodell swore would not take place under his watch.

The Browns, for their part as well, have yet to publicly discipline their wide receiver.

Why? Why have both parties not yet acted in regards to Stallworth?

One of the under-reported issues in the NFL is that the league has a huge problem with drinking and DUIs amongst its players. A quick glance at the "turd watch" on profootballtalk.com, or the rap sheet on my own website would show how often NFL players are charged with DUIs.

Granted, most players (and people in general) are able to weasel out of any true trouble with the law that results from these arrests. Most incidents are quickly and quietly swept under the rug to be forgotten.

The NFL is content to let this occur, without ever punishing a player.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that while the NFL can instantly suspend players for substance abuse in the form of performance enhancing drugs, as well as those of the recreational sort, the league will not nor even attempt to do anything of the sort in regards to alcohol despite it being within the commissioner's power to do so.  And alcohol is the most abused substance within the league.

Privately, the NFL knows this.

Perhaps Stallworth's DUI manslaughter charge will wake the league up and spur it into action. But that is highly unlikely.

The NFL also has had a problem with its players abusing women. Yet after the tragic story of Rae Carruth murdering his pregnant girlfriend, the NFL ignored any further ramifications that were associated with his case. They deemed it an isolated incident.

Likely, that is what will happen with this case involving Donte Stallworth.

While the league could use this as a springboard for more action regarding its players acting like responsible adults and punishing them when they break the law in cases like DUI arrests, the NFL likely won't do a thing differently.

The NFL has clearly shown a tendancy to allow criminals to play within their league.  

Yet for some fans, this strikes at the heart of the NFL's credibility. If you're willing to employ criminals just to make a buck, what else might a league be willing to do?

If the NFL is going to show any backbone and attempt to control its players' behavior off the field, it's going to have to act and act swiftly when cut-and-dry instances like this one in the case of Donte Stallworth occur.

But the fact is, the NFL does nothing more than pay lip-service in incidents like this.  Slow and belated, the league eventually gets around to acting. When it does, rarely does the punishment really fit the crime.

It will be interesting to see how many games a DUI manslaughter charge is equal to, and if/when the NFL will allow a convicted killer to play again within the league.