The Kansas City Chiefs will have two draft picks, including a third-round pick this year, taken from them after the NFL determined that they violated the league's anti-tampering rules in 2015 when allegedly making direct contact with free agent-to-be Jeremy Maclin.
Maclin was still under contract with the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, during the league's pre-free agency "negotiating period" — often called the "legal tampering" period — last offseason. Teams are not allowed to have direct contact with prospective free agents, only their representatives, until the start of the new league year.
The Chiefs are slated to lose the 91st overall pick in this year's draft, as well as as sixth-rounder in 2017. Fines also were assessed — a team fine of $250,000, with head coach Andy Reid fined $75,000 and general manager John Dorsey fined $25,000.
The team reportedly plans to appeal the league's decision, and it has five days in which to notify the league of that.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent informed Chiefs chairman/CEO Clark Hunt the league's decision by letter.
In it, Vincent said that in “assessing discipline, the goal is to balance the seriousness of the violation of an important and longstanding competitive rule (the Anti-Tampering Policy), with appropriate recognition of the club’s history (no prior offenses), and the cooperation shown by both the club and individual employees. The discipline should be sufficient both to deter future violations and encourage cooperation in future investigations. The assessment of discipline here accounts for the fact that the club and its personnel were fully cooperative and forthcoming in the investigation. In this case, our staff had full access to all of the information requested, including electronic and telephone records, and unrestricted access to all club people whom we sought to interview."
Hunt issued a statement shortly afterward.
“While we respect Commissioner Goodell and the process, we believe that the penalties proposed in this case are inconsistent with discipline enforced in similar matters — particularly given the league’s inconsistent communication of its policies on contact with potential free agents,” Hunt said. “As an organization, we take great care to conduct ourselves with integrity and operate within the guidelines of the NFL. We have been fully cooperative and transparent with the league in this matter, and we are disappointed with the league’s decision. I want to make it clear that I fully support the leadership of both Coach Reid and John Dorsey. We will continue to explore our options under the appeal process.”
This is the same NFL that looks the other way when deals — with financial terms complete — are announced within minutes of the start of the free-agency period opening. According to NFL rules, teams and representatives may speak during the negotiating period but may not discuss specific monetary figures, and yet how are free agents "agreeing to terms" before the start of free agency?
The Chiefs might have a case here from a logical standpoint, but proving their innocence and recouping the draft picks might be difficult.
No comments:
Post a Comment