Yesterday a judge called Andy Reid's home a "drug emporium." Andy Reid is the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Why has Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, been silent on this matter?
Drugs found at the Reid home included a variety of street drugs as well as prescription drugs. Drug selling paraphernalia and guns were also found.
Now none of this belonged to Andy Reid, it is his sons who are in trouble over this. However Michael Vick, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, was suspended from the NFL just over allegations that illegal activity was going on at a house that he owned. Why hasn't the NFL even said a word about Andy Reid? There is a double standard in the NFL.
Imagine if a player (say Randy Moss or Terrell Owens) was in the same situation as Andy Reid is right now, I bet that Roger Goodell would have a lot to say about the player tarnishing the image of the NFL. Goodell would probably even launch a special investigation into the matter. However it seems that Andy Reid is getting a free pass from the NFL.
To me Andy Reid is more of a representative of the NFL than a player because he is part of management. Furthermore coaches and executives (Reid is both) in the NFL should be held to a higher standard than the employees (the players) but it seems they are not.
Wait, there's one more thing. One of Andy Reid'd sons has admitted to using steroids. I would think that steroids so close to an NFL team would cause concern for the commissioner but apparently Roger Goodell has not started a special investigation into the matter as he did when Vick was accused of dog fighting. It is also curious to note that at least one former Eagles player under Reid has tested positive for steroid use.
Ultimately the NFL belongs to the owners and they can do whatever they want with it as long as it is within the law. The same goes for the teams and Andy Reid himself set a double standard precedent early in his coaching career with the Eagles. Three Eagles players were pulled over by a police officer and were found with marijuana. Shortly afterward two of the players were let go. The message was clear, if you stink as a player and it won't hurt the salary cap to let you go then you had better not screw up and be found with drugs or you will be released. The third player, Correll Buckhalter, is still with the Eagles.
Bad news comes out about a player and the NFL is all over it to protect its image, bad news swirls around a head coach and the league buries its head in the sand and hopes no one notices. That does not sound like a quality organization to me.
