Hire the NFL's Suspension of Terrelle Pryor

Pryor's punishment stands.

After a deliberation second in length only to the Casey Anthony trial, the NFL decided to allow ex-Ohio State QB Terelle Pryor to enter the supplemental draft. There is a catch - Pryor will have to sit out five games if he gets drafted, the length of his punishment handed down by the NCAA.

Pryor received a five-game suspension in 2010 for his role in selling championship rings, jerseys and awards, and receiving improper benefits from an Ohio tattoo parlor. The suspension was not to be enforced until 2011, but Pryor bolted for the NFL when the scandal forced coach Jim Tressel to resign.

The HR Department generally disagrees with most of the NCAA's anachronistic and hypocritical rules to preserve the facade of amateurism, so we're not applauding the NFL for upholding the specific statutes. What we do applaud, though, is the NFL not allowing Pryor to skirt his punishment (and get paid a lot of money in doing so). The NFL has successfully sent the message that players who misbehave can't always run away from their problems.


A larger issue here is: Why is the NFL worried about sucking up to the NCAA? The NFL already guarantees the NCAA's cash cow by not allowing anyone to play in the league until they've been out of high school for 3 years (or would have been had they graduated). That should be enough. The NFL and NCAA clearly need each other, but it's not like Pryor is shaking the foundation of the NCAA if he gets off without punishment. Maybe the NFL doesn't want college juniors who are NFL eligible ignoring rules (even more than they already do), and maybe the league figures helping the NCAA can only help the NFL.