NFL Suspensions: 5 players that were handed longest punishments by league
NFL suspensions are handed out as disciplinary measures when players commit egregious acts. The league has been criticized for quickly condemning players for issues such as domestic violence and other serious offenses.
However, suspensions are now back in the limelight due to the latest saga involving the Detroit Lions. Four players, including Jameson Williams, have been suspended due to their involvement in gambling over various time periods. Even members of the franchise's staff have been dismissed.
Jameson Williams has been suspended for six games this season, but it is by no means the longest suspension ever handed out by the NFL. Many players have been given life or indefinite sentences, only to be later reinstated. We looked at those categories and ranked them based on the time they were actually out of the league. These are the longest NFL suspensions in league history.
NFL suspensions: A part of the league since its earliest days
#5 - Michael Vick, QB, 2 years
A player who revolutionized quarterbacking, Michael Vick is unfortunately more associated with his off-field activities by many. As a three-time Pro Bowler with the Atlanta Falcons, it looked as if his career was destined for greatness. Then came the news in 2007 that he was involved in an illegal dog fighting ring.
Once this came to light, he was convicted. Then, he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL on July 27, 2007. He remained suspended for the duration of his prison sentence, which amounted to 21 months. He was reinstated in July 2009 but was released by the Falcons.
He would go on to sign for the Philadelphia Eagles and had his most productive season in 2010. He was named to the Pro Bowl again that year and won the Comeback Player of the Year award.
#4 - Plaxico Burress, WR, 2 years
Similar to Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress also had to spend a couple of years behind bars. Having caught the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII as the unfancied New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, things could have looked up for him.
Instead, in 2008, he accidentally discharged his gun and ended up hurting himself. Although he did not hurt anyone else, possession of the gun was illegal as per New York law. Further searches resulted in other weapons being recovered as well. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2009 and handed an indefinite NFL suspension.
The suspension was lifted in 2011 when his sentence ended. He would go on to join the New York Jets and then the Pittsburgh Steelers before ending his career in 2013.
#3 - Art Folz, QB, Life reduced to 1 year
Now, technically, Art Folz has had a lesser NFL suspension than Vick and Burress. However, we have included his charge as higher than the other two because he was initially handed a life ban from the sport in 1925, only to be reinstated in 1926.
The match that produced the sanction involved the Chicago Cardinals beating the Milwaukee Badgers 58-0 in the 1925 NFL season. The Pottsville Maroons were leading the league, and the Cardinals needed to run up the score to catch up with them. Art Folz enlisted players from his alma mater, Englewood High School, to play positions for the Badgers so that the Cardinals could play against a low-caliber team.
The Cards' Art Folz, who set the whole thing up, got banned from the league for it. His version of the story: https://t.co/jadCuAtEEY
Once this tampering came to light, Art Folz was banned for life, but it was later rescinded because the NFL thought he might go and play in the nascent first iteration of the American Football League. Despite being reinstated a year later, Folz never played pro football again.
#T1 - Frank Filchock, QB, Life & Merle Hapes, RB, Life
The New York Giants faced the Chicago Bears in the 1926 NFL Championship game. The Bears won 24-14, but this is not what the game is remembered for.
Gambler Alvin Paris offered bribes to Giants players Frank Filchock and Merle Hapes. New York Mayor William O'Dwyer informed Jack and Wellington Mara when he found out, and Hapes admitted to being offered the bribes, but Filchock denied it. NFL commissioner Bert Bell, therefore, did not allow Hapes to play, but Filchock did.
However, later, during Alvin Paris' trial, Filchock also confirmed that he had been offered bribes. Both players were, therefore, banned for life by the NFL for their involvement.
Given the #NFL's sudden love affair with betting, here's one of the index cards the AP used to keep on file of various Names In The News. Alvin J. Paris was the front man in an attempt to fix the 1946 title game. Merle Hapes & Frank Filchock were the #Giants involved. https://t.co/L3puMSoBqf
With Jameson Williams and the Detroit Lions' gambling suspensions, it seems we have reached full circle. Since they did not bet on the outcome of their own games, none of the punishments will be as severe as those faced by Filchock, Hapes or Folz.
So they nfl gave a lifetime suspension to: Art Folz in 1925 for hiring a bunch of high school players to play against his team to pad their record.
In 47 the Frank Filchock and merle hapes got kicked out for life for talking money to fix the game.
But the length of these NFL suspensions help us understand why gambling remains such a taboo among professional sports leagues in the United States. Despite Las Vegas now being home to the Raiders, the NFL continues to take a tough stance on betting of any kind.