Broncos K Matt Prater gets four game suspension (reduced from one year)

[soxhop411]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter  1h
Turns out Broncos K Matt Prater was facing a year-long suspension that his attorney, Harvey Steinberg, got reduced to four games.
 
Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet  13m
Lawyer Harvey Steinberg said #Broncos K Matt Prater tested positive for alcohol after drinking on vacation precamp. Was still in the program
Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet  13m
Steinberg said Matt Prater wasn't driving and was drinking in his own home. Yet faced a year suspension, which was whittled down to 4 games
 
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/503596810930520065
 
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/503597150211952640
 
But Ray Rice gets 2?

 

[Kliq]

Probably not a popular opinion, but can we stop with the "Ray Rice only got 2 games" nonsense? I get that on paper it seems ridiculous, but the folks with the most information (Law Enforcement, the league, the Ravens) have all given Rice pretty much a pass. I don't like comparing that suspension to every other suspension in the NFL, because each case is separate from each other.

 

[thehitcat]

Probably not a popular opinion, but can we stop with the "Ray Rice only got 2 games" nonsense? I get that on paper it seems ridiculous, but the folks with the most information (Law Enforcement, the league, the Ravens) have all given Rice pretty much a pass. I don't like comparing that suspension to every other suspension in the NFL, because each case is separate from each other.

No I'm sorry but I strongly disagree with this stance.  We should bring up the hypocrisy of the Ray Rice suspension every single time.  Sweeping this crap under the carpet is exactly why we still have a domestic violence problem in this country.  He beat up his fiance, and then dragged her off.  Those are facts and we have eyewitness accounts.
 
I will say the part of your statement that I do agree with is that each case is separate, however, that doesn't mean we shouldn't make a huge deal out of the fact that drinking in your home gets you 4 games because you had a DUI 3 years ago (DUIs are terrible as well I get that btw) while beating up your fiance in public gets you half of that.  The league has to do a better job and the only way they will is if the fans show that they give a crap.

 

[Darnell's Son]

Peyton is cursed with idiot kickers.

 

[the1andonly3003]

Peyton is cursed with idiot kickers.

like Adam Vinetieri

 

[Cellar-Door]

Probably not a popular opinion, but can we stop with the "Ray Rice only got 2 games" nonsense? I get that on paper it seems ridiculous, but the folks with the most information (Law Enforcement, the league, the Ravens) have all given Rice pretty much a pass. I don't like comparing that suspension to every other suspension in the NFL, because each case is separate from each other.

Two of those three have a pretty big interest vested in giving him a pass, and the 3rd charged him with aggravated assault, then let him plea it out (enter pre-trial) because the victim refused to testify (after Rice quickly married her the day after the indictment. She'd rather have his $$$ than see him go to jail).
 
His getting a pass is part of the point. The league made sure in the CBA to get a drug policy that is ridiculous and includes mandatory and ridiculously long suspensions for Marijuana, and mandatory alcohol testing for people with past DUI but has almost nothing concerning violent crime, and treats DUI convictions the same as a positive marijuana test.
 
The Ray Rice only got two games bit is a good way of pointing out how broken the NFL system is that it cares far more about recreational drug use than violent or dangerous activity.
 
I know people say,.... well these are repeat offenses. Who cares. Punching someone until they are unconcious  once is worse than smoking pot every day of your life. It not only is a ridiculous hypocrisy, it also sends a terrible message with regards to domestic violence which is already an issue that gets ignored, swept aside and under-prosecuted.

 

[Old Fart Tree]

Probably not a popular opinion, but can we stop with the "Ray Rice only got 2 games" nonsense? I get that on paper it seems ridiculous, but the folks with the most information (Law Enforcement, the league, the Ravens) have all given Rice pretty much a pass. I don't like comparing that suspension to every other suspension in the NFL, because each case is separate from each other.

 
No. Pointing out hypocrisy is never a bad thing.

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

Probably not a popular opinion, but can we stop with the "Ray Rice only got 2 games" nonsense? I get that on paper it seems ridiculous, but the folks with the most information (Law Enforcement, the league, the Ravens) have all given Rice pretty much a pass. I don't like comparing that suspension to every other suspension in the NFL, because each case is separate from each other.

Ray Rice only getting 2 games is nonsense indeed.

 

[Rook05]

Peyton is cursed with idiot kickers.

While he has a hell of a leg, Matt Prater is a certified idiot, and the story of his previous arrest in 2011 is pretty funny. Apparently, he picked up a stripper from a strip club (Shotgun Willies, I believe) and backed his truck into a parked car at the hotel. After failing to get a room, he ran off....but left his driver's license on the dash board of the truck. The cops caught him at a nearby La Quinta.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Report-Matt-Prater-was-with-a-stripper-during-DUI-hitandrun.html

 

[Rook05]

Oh, and Harvey Steinberg is a legal ninja. He's represented a bunch of Broncos (Bill Romanowski, Brandon Marshall, the despicable Perrish Cox, etc.) over the years with impressive results. He occasionally comes of local sports radio and sounds like someone straight out of a Hollywood script.

Edit: Even Steinberg is mortal, though, as DJ Williams found out: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_21346255/d-j-williams-learns-that-even-harvey-steinberg

 

[Darnell's Son]

like Adam Vinetieri

It was a Vanderjagt joke.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

The lesson, as always, is that when it comes to cheating the salary cap, or the drug testing system, or tampering with some other team's players, in the eyes of the NFL, it is always better to be the Denver Broncos...
 
I guess this is an interesting test of whether the key to the Broncos immunity to NFL justice has been their excellent legal representation or Pat Bowlen's influence in the league office.

 

[TomTerrific]

1. PEDs aside, the NFL imposing fines and suspensions for substance abuse not directly related to intoxication at practice or at a game is ludicrous.
 
2. By the standards of how I would like most employers to behave, the NFL imposing fines and suspensions for behavior outside the workplace (in this case, domestic violence) that doesn't impact their performance is also ludicrous
 
The only straw the NFL can grasp at in both these cases is that both of these types of behavior may affect their business by the mere fact of the public knowing about them.
 
In such a case, it is totally appropriate to mock them at every turn for judgements such as: Matt Prater drinking a beer gets a season's suspension, reduced by the grace of His Majesty Commissioner Roger Goodell to four games, while Ray Rice beats up his wife but only gets a 2-game suspension, and Jim Irsay is caught DUI with multiple prescription medications on the seat next to him, and quite possibly will never serve any kind of suspension whatever.

 

[86spike]

The substance abuse protocols are all collectively bargained, so players agreed to the rules and can't really complain.

That said, it's a little rich that a league with massive sponsorship and advertising deals with alcohol companies, and who sell copious amounts of booze at games, is so anti-booze apparently.

 

[LogansDad]

The substance abuse protocols are all collectively bargained, so players agreed to the rules and can't really complain.

That said, it's a little rich that a league with massive sponsorship and advertising deals with alcohol companies, and who sell copious amounts of booze at games, is so anti-booze apparently.

I don't know the whole story, but I assume this goes back to a probationary period from his previous incident, and it that context I guess it makes more sense.
 
That said.... a year?  Even 4 games seems ludicrous given how little the NFL has shown they care about things that actually, you know, hurt other people.

 

[LondonSox]

I don't understand. He was drinking at home, not driving and that was a potential one year suspension?
What rule is he breaking? And how can that be a 1 year suspension when DUIs aren't??

 

[Average Reds]

Probably not a popular opinion, but can we stop with the "Ray Rice only got 2 games" nonsense? I get that on paper it seems ridiculous, but the folks with the most information (Law Enforcement, the league, the Ravens) have all given Rice pretty much a pass. I don't like comparing that suspension to every other suspension in the NFL, because each case is separate from each other.

 
About the most polite thing I can say about this is that it is one of the more brainless logical fallacies I've seen around here lately.  The fact that LE and the NFL gave Rice a pass is not a reason to let it go.  It's the reason people are outraged.
 
As for Prater, his suspension is puzzling, but it is what it is.  He agreed to abide by certain restrictions and he failed to follow them.  But in light of the "pass" that was given to Rice, it does look absurd on its face.
 

I don't understand. He was drinking at home, not driving and that was a potential one year suspension?
What rule is he breaking? And how can that be a 1 year suspension when DUIs aren't??

 
The NFL wanted to give Prater the same suspension that Donte Stallworth received for pleading guilty to DUI Manslaughter.  The NFL is perhaps the most tone deaf organization in sports these days.

 

[SMU_Sox]

I'm not going to reveal anything in poor taste that's private but if you know anything about RG as a person his stances make a lot more sense. I'll leave it at that.

 

[Average Reds]

I can't argue with the assertion that your post revealed nothing.
 
Edit:  More to the point, unless we are to believe that Roger Goodell is idiotic enough to use his own personal experience(s) as the basis for punishing NFL players, your implication is ridiculous on it's face.

 

[mauf]

I'll dissent from the popular view and say Prater should've been suspended for the full year. This isn't a situation where the NFL is policing someone's private party habits -- Prater had a prior DUI offense. He had to remain sober as a condition of being allowed to continue playing. If he didn't follow those rules, he should suffer the consequences. If the league truly had the goods on him, agreeing to reduce his suspension was inappropriate.

I think it's a mistake for the league to get into the subjective realm of policing bad behavior that doesn't result in a criminal conviction and isn't covered by the drug policy (which is at least clear, if unduly harsh on recreational drug use). Sure, suspending Ray Rice for two games is a joke, but is it more of a joke than suspending Roethlisberger for four games? How do you stack those cases up against Pacman Jones's crime spree? Or what about Michael Vick's dogfighting escapades -- a less serious offense than the others, but one that resulted in a felony conviction and prison time? How do you square any of those punishments with the harsh punishments thrown at Justin Blackmon, Josh Gordon, or Matt Prater?

I guess the league felt they had to do something about Pacman. Now, they're in the untenable position of feeling they need to punish each high-profile misdeed, but they don't have the buy-in from the union to hand down punishments that don't seem like a joke.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

I'm not going to reveal anything in poor taste that's private but if you know anything about RG as a person his stances make a lot more sense. I'll leave it at that.

 
His father's a drunk, but he didn't beat his wife (and yeah, I know his brother is gay)?

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

I have to say, given their precedents, I'm surprised Dennard isn't suspended at least one game.

 

[TomTerrific]

I have to say, given their precedents, I'm surprised Dennard isn't suspended at least one game.

 
This view is echoed by Andy Hart, as regular PFWIP listeners know.  I sure hope both of you are wrong.

 

[amarshal2]

Maybe my memory is wrong but I believe it was AD's first offense as a nfl player. The first time he was in college which should not fall under the nfl's preview.

 

[soxfan121]

Maybe my memory is wrong but I believe it was AD's first offense as a nfl player. The first time he was in college which should not fall under the nfl's preview.

 
I believe your recollection is correct. 
 
And that interpretation of "the facts" would be worthy of conniptions and rage-filled posts were Dennard a Bronco or Jet. 
 
The NFL and Roger Goodell give the impression that they really do have a Wheel of Justice, as opposed to a coherent, consistent set of policies and punishments.

 

[mauf]

Maybe my memory is wrong but I believe it was AD's first offense as a nfl player. The first time he was in college which should not fall under the nfl's preview.

That didn't stop them from suspending Terrelle Pryor for something that wasn't even a crime.

I think Goodell's leniency with Dennard is based on the facts of the incident. Iirc, even Dennard's version of events would support a conviction, so it isn't clear the jury believed that Dennard "assaulted" a police officer in the colloquial sense of the word. The lenient sentence suggests the judge wasn't convinced he did.