Tragedy Hits Close to Home for the Dallas Cowboys

If there was ever proof that the NFL, or at the least individual teams, need to be a but more stringent with restrictions on players who run afoul of the law cases like the one unfolding in Dallas should be enough.

Early Saturday morning, defensive lineman Joshua Brent and practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown (who were teammates from back in the day at Illinois) saw their night out end tragically when the car they were in hit a curb going very fast. The car flipped and eventually came to a stop in the middle of the road.

When cops arrived they saw Brent trying to drag his friend from the car. Brown was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Brent has been charged with intoxication manslaughter.

Guys are going to be guys, and when you are on top of the world like guys in the NFL (even the practice squad players) are you are going to go out and have fun. That is a fact. The problem is that so many of them don't know when to say when (like many people). The surprising thing is that even though most if not all could easily afford to take a cab home or do something that isn't life threatening they don't.

At one time the NFL, the NFLPA, and even some teams had programs where all players had to do is call a number and a car service would come pick them up and take them home safely. However, a lot of guys don't trust such programs thinking that the league or teams may be tracking who uses them with the thought of using the information against the player(s) later in some way, shape, or form. 

If it isn't the league or teams there is the constants threat of waking up the next morning/afternoon and finding pictures or videos of yourself drunk on TMZ or some other tabloid site.

Drinking is a personal choice; one that the league can hardly mandate, but you would think that there would be some interest in doing something that would help keep things like this from occurring, especially when there is a track record involved.

In 2009 Brent was busted near the Illinois campus speeding, driving on a suspended licence  and under the influence. No injuries were reported in that instance, but thanks to a plea deal all he got was two years on probation  200 hours of community service, and a $2000 fine. Per the agreement, he wasn't hit with not having a license and the DUI charge was downgraded from aggravated (if I understand that right).

The fact that his licence was suspended tells me that he already had a bad track record when it came to driving. Without knowing the details it sounds as if his case should have been a slam dunk. Then again, he was a football player on a big DI program (all be it a poor one that season; the Fighting Illini were 3-9)...

This incident will likely cause a lot of discussion over the next couple days; at least over the course of Sunday's games and the Monday night one. What should the NFL do if anything? Can they stop these guys from being so self-destructive? Or is this just another unfortunate accident that could have--and does--happen to anyone? it's just going to get more attention because professional football players are involved.

I don't know the answer, but with the kind of pockets that these guys (players, teams, and league) have I would think they would at least be interested in better protecting their investment if not the lives of their friends and teammates.

Somehow the distrust between all the parties has to end so that they can come up with a plan/program/etc. that players can feel safe calling so next time something like this does not have to happen.

And of course my deepest sympathy goes out to his friends and family. Y'all have my deepest condolensces for your loss.