FINING DAVID TEPPER ONLY $300,000 IS A REMINDER: GOODELL MAKES $64 MILLION
An NFL owner who angrily throws his drink on Jacksonville fans is a disgrace to his profession, yet time after time, the commissioner cuts soft deals for the men who pay his outlandish contract
Don’t you love the gods at NFL headquarters, defending lame officiating on the day they pound David Tepper for $300,000? As an owner worth almost $21 billion, it’s almost worth the friggin’ fine to angrily heave his drink in the vicinity of Jacksonville fans. Do the bosses really think we’ll focus on their insipid view of the latest refereeing fiasco, which disrupted the end of the Dallas-Detroit game, and ignore the Carolina buffoon who blames his 2-14 season on Jaguars jersey-wearers?
Again, the league serves the money men who pay Roger Goodell, whether it’s Jim Irsay with his DUI charge or Jerry Jones for his dirty-old-man tomfoolery or Stephen Ross’ tampering guilt or Robert Kraft issuing an apology for soliciting a prostitute or Michael Bidwill and his abusive workplace culture. At some point, despite its stunning prosperity as a viewership product, the NFL must punish owners with the same magnitude it punishes players and fans.
It wasn’t long ago when sports dealt with a customer who threw a water bottle at Kyrie Irving. He was treated as a loon and charged with assault and battery while banned from Boston’s TD Garden. How is Tepper any different, as the disorderly owner of the Panthers, when he angrily tossed his drink into the stands Sunday from his private suite at EverBank Stadium? The Jaguars cite a code that bans “unruly, disruptive (or) threatening behavior” and “any conduct deemed inappropriate or dangerous.” Across America, dunces are thrown out of stadiums and arenas at all times.
Why not Tepper? Shouldn’t anyone hit by his drink sue him? If you look closely at the viral tape, it appears his liquid spilled on someone sitting in a row below him. He’s the second-richest owner in the league and one of the wealthiest in sports. The Duval County court system awaits.
“All NFL personnel are expected to conduct themselves at all times in ways that respect our fans and favorably reflect on their team and the NFL,” the league said.
“I am deeply passionate about this team and regret my behavior. I should have let NFL stadium security handle any issues that arose,” Tepper said. “I respect the NFL's code of conduct and accept the League's discipline for my behavior.”
No, owners who deprive fans of their enjoyment and wreck the scene should be punished at a higher rate. Tepper is 31-67 atop a team that appeared in the Super Bowl in 2016, under a previous owner, and agreed to ship away tremendous value and draft Bryce Young as quarterback. He told fans that Young would lead his franchise to “Super Bowls.” Instead, the Panthers have suffered six straight losing seasons since he bought them. Now he’s looking for another head coach, after dismissing Frank Reich in midseason, which came a year after firing Matt Rhule.
Who would be crazy enough to work for him?
For now, Tepper might want to consider selling the team. Just because a man makes billions from hedge-fund managing doesn’t mean he should own an NFL operation. Fans have been barred for throwing drinks on players, including those in New England and Cleveland. “This individual person’s action is not tolerated in our building, as it is not reflective of our fan base or city,” the Browns said.
You want to live in Charlotte and associate with Tepper? Fining him $300,000 is a failure of administrative judgment. And people wonder how Roger Goodell, in his last two seasons, made $128 million.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.