Why Roger Goodell Needs to Send a Message to Detroit Lions Brass

Yet another Detroit Lions player has run afoul of the law, and as the police blotter gets yet another blast of silver and Honolulu blue, it's becoming clear that the commissioner's office may be forced to send the message that Detroit management seems unwilling or unable to.

According to WXYZ-TV in Detroit, starting cornerback Aaron Berry was arrested last Saturday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and charged with suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, two counts of causing accidental damage to an unattended vehicle or property and two counts of failure to stop and give information to law enforcement after allegedly striking several parked cars with his vehicle.

This marks the fourth Detroit Lions player who has been arrested this offseason. 2011 seventh-round draft pick Johnny Culbreath was arrested in January for marijuana possession, and both running back Mikel Leshoure and defensive tackle Nick Fairley were arrested multiple times.

For their part, the Lions released a statement expressing their disappointment in this latest incident according to a report in The Detroit Free Press.

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We are extremely disappointed in the reports involving Aaron Berry and the incident in Pennsylvania this past weekend. This is not the standard of behavior we expect from any member of our organization. We have strongly and repeatedly emphasized the need to be accountable on and off the field, which makes this incident with Aaron all the more disappointing. We will have further comments regarding this situation when appropriate.

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With that said, though, the Lions have done precious little regarding these incidents besides express "disappointment." For all the success the Lions had on the field last year, they were a team that was often criticized for lacking discipline on the field, amassing costly penalties and making stupid mistakes.

It appears that lack of discipline has extended off the field, and someone had better start levying harsher penalties before one of these stupid mistakes off the field gets somebody killed. It's not exactly without precedent in the National Football League.

Just ask wide receiver Donte Stallworth. Or defensive end Leonard Little. Both men got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, and in both instances, by the time that ride was finished, someone was dead.

The league has already taken steps in at least one of the instances involving Lions' players, as Leshoure was suspended for the first two games of the 2012 season after two arrests for possession of marijuana. Fairley may well face a suspension of his own after he followed an April possession arrest with a DUI in May.

Berry, as a first time offender, may well escape that fate. To his credit, he released a statement Tuesday apologizing for the weekend's incident.

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“I want to offer a sincere apology to the Lions organization, Lions fans, the coaches and all my teammates for my actions this past weekend. This is not the example I want to set for young people and it’s certainly not what my team and coaches expect from me. I promise to do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again. I understand these are just words and it will be my future actions that ultimately will speak for me.”

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It's not just the Lions either, at least where DUIs are concerned. Drunk driving arrests have reached ridiculous proportions in the NFL, especially given that teams have ride programs set up. I'm pretty sure even an NFL player making the minimum salary has enough money for cab fare.

However, for whatever reason, these players are instead choosing to get into their cars and drive drunk, perhaps because the potential penalties they face from both the NFL and their respective clubs don't scare them enough to inspire them to pick up the damn phone.

That needs to change, and given the mentality that seems to permeate the Detroit locker room right now, the Motor City would seem to be an excellent place to start.

Granted, the collective bargaining agreement affords NFL teams only a certain amount of latitude where player discipline is concerned, and any club that oversteps that perceived authority will likely draw the ire of the NFLPA. That, and the fear of alienating both their own players and future free agents, is usually enough to inspire front offices to just sit back and let Roger Goodell be the "bad guy."

If that's the case, then Goodell needs to put on his black hat and start dropping the hammer, levying the harshest punishment permissible under the CBA until players get it through their thick skulls that driving drunk will not be tolerated by the NFL.

The players may well cry foul, as may fans in Detroit if the Lions are hit especially hard by suspensions to three players who are all set to see significant playing time this year.

That's just too bad. The players have no one to blame but the idiots among of them who get behind the wheel hammered, and the Lions have no one blame but themselves for allowing things in their locker room to get this out of hand.

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