NFL owners have voted unanimously to adopt six game minimum suspensions for domestic or sexual violence and other crimes.
The changes come after the NFL was criticized for its handling of alleged off-field violence by high profile players. But will the players go along?
John Affleck, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at Penn State, offers his assessment and also talks about the upcoming departure of Pitt football coach Paul Chryst for Wisconsin.
Affleck says that Chryst, who has longstanding ties to Wisconsin, is perfect for the Wisconsin job. According to Affleck, Chryst was not actively trying to leave Pitt, the position with the University of Wisconsin “is just sort of his obvious destination job.”
Affleck acknowledges that while he has no inside information on the search for a new Pitt coach, some possibilities are Teryll Austin, defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, and Tom Bradley, currently Senior Assistant Head Coach of the WVU Mountaineers.
With regard to a new NFL policy on suspension for domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault, Affleck says, “Money and image often drives what happens.” Affleck reports that some NFL players disapprove of the policy because they feel it was created unilaterally and without sufficient player involvement.
