One of the NFL’s driving principles is to take itself as seriously as possible, which is why team owners think they must watch games in formal wear, employees must refer to them as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” and football is relentlessly portrayed as a character-building exercise that is essential to the success of the American experiment. When a league assigns itself such weight, then naturally the people running it become Biblical literalists about the rule book (unless one of the owners might have violated a rule, but that’s for another column).
The rule that got Lions receiver Jameson Williams suspended for six games might be dumb, but it’s the rule, dammit, and if he gets away with a mild punishment, then before you know it, players might think they can decide how high they can pull up their game socks. Oh, the heresy!
Well, rules are rules, and Williams broke one. But if his agents at Alliance Sports are telling the truth—and let’s assume they are—it’s a ridiculous rule, and the next logical step for the NFL is to reexamine and then rewrite its gambling guidelines. Let common sense reign.
