This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.

That's it. This is the final straw. I'm now firmly convinced that Roger Goodell isn't trying to protect the NFL's image with his new unwritten and likely illegal conduct policy, but is rather trying to destroy it.

Safety Sam Brandon has been suspended for the first two games this year based on two domestic violence arrests in June 2004 and July 2005. Read that again. Brandon is being suspended for two violations, the latest of which happened TWO FUCKING YEARS AGO!!!

This is what it comes down to, I guess. Roger Goodell apparently can analyze your distant past and act as he (and he alone) sees fit. It's completely fucking absurd. Is everyone who's ever been arrested for anything since whatever arbitrary date that Goodell chooses going to be suspended? We’ve all seen the appeal from Pacman’s attorney, right? I counted 70+ arrested players (give or take a few considering some guys were arrested more than once) since July 2005. Where are their suspensions?

At what point does your past become “the past”? There has to be some type of cut-off date for this type of shit, right? We’ll never know, because I still have yet to see what Goodell’s actual conduct policy is. Is it written down somewhere? Has anyone ever seen it? Apparently it’s based on the “screw you, I do what I want” philosophy.

Brandon has vowed to appeal the suspension, but what's the point? Appeals are heard by Goodell and Goodell alone. He's not going to reduce or overturn his own ruling is he? Of course not, he's a megalomaniacal dictator-type hell bent on turning the league into a church choir or some fucking nonsense. Did Pacman really erode the NFL’s image enough to justify this type of idiocy?

It's been well documented that the NFL Players Association is a complete and utter joke. They're the most pathetic players union of any major sport. These types of ridiculous suspensions will continue until Upshaw or someone wraps their head around the fact that Goodell has gone bat-shit crazy with this policy. He's fucking with the livelihoods of everyone in the league.

The only thing that is going to stop this type of shit is one of these players suing the league, either with or without the PA’s help. Fuck it, I’ll donate my time.

UPDATE: Turns out that Brandon was arrested in September ’06 for violating a restraining order and bond conditions (I guess from the '05 incident, but details are sparse) - both are misdemeanors. I stand by this post anyway. The problem is there are no set guidelines to determine what is a suspendable offense, or if there are, no one other than Goodell has seen them.