More @NFL Punishment Buffoonery

Many may think given my (gridiron) football affiliations I would be speaking of the truly preposterous decision of the NFL to actually go forward with its appeal of the deflategate case with the filing of the appellate brief in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Actually I was shocked (shocked I tell you) to learn the NFL has hired Paul Clement to argue the matter. News flash to the Brady camp ... this barrister is no joke and has argued before SCOTUS more than anyone else on earth right now. He argued such cases as ObamaCare and DOMA to name others ... and is likely going to wind up on the very bench he often argues before depending which was the Presidential election goes in 2016, and the health of one Justice Ginsberg. The Brady camp would be wise to hire some higher power staff on their side to match.

But alas, I am not talking about that particular brand of NFL buffoonery, it is the type where the NFL continues to fine players for their "uniform violations" which support good causes. While I wrote about DeAngelo Williams the other day, today it is William Gay and his fine of $5787 for wearing purple cleats to support his mother who was killed in an act of domestic violence.

Oh look, here is a handy list of NFL players who have been arrested for domestic violence in the last couple of years from SI. Yes indeed, we certainly don't want any NFL player to make a positive statement about domestic violence since the league is doing such a good job disciplining its players for it.

Just as a casual reminder regarding the rageaholic Cowboy, Greg Hardy and what he was found guilty of (from SI):

On May 13, Hardy was arrested for communicating threats and assault against his then-girlfriend. Hardy reportedly threw the woman into a bathroom, then dragged her into the bedroom, choked her, picked her up again, and threw her on a couch covered in firearms. He also reportedly threatened to shoot her if she told anyone about the fight.

You want to do something constructive NFL? While you have the cancer scam going in October ... why don't you continue in November with "Stop Domestic Violence" and give everyone purple cleats, gloves, and towels. $h!t you can even make some money on it, like you do the cancer promotion. For the love of all things holy though, stop protecting these thugs, and let players like Gay who have been touched by this crime wear something purple.

To do otherwise continues to deepen the turmoil the NFL finds itself in with regard to player conduct and the absurd punishments it hands out ... which (spoiler alert) will be further degraded by the decision in the 2nd Circuit.

Please oh please let deflategate go to SCOTUS when the NFL gets crushed there ... and please let Justice Scalia write for the majority. #lawgeek

Who is JAFO?

As many of you have seen, there is a contributor listed named JAFO. A couple of readers have asked who that is. JAFO is someone who occasionally may contribute to the posts but wishes to remain anonymous. 

Again speaking from my legal training, the right to speak anonymously has been upheld again and again by the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS). One example for those who want to fall asleep is Talley v. California 362 U.S. 60 (1960) which stands for the proposition that "... identification and fear of reprisal might deter perfectly peaceful discussions of public matters of importance."

I believe we can operate within this fora in this manner without undermining its effectiveness. I am more willing to hide the identity of some contributors who do so in good faith and for legitimate reasons that not have these folks contribute at all, as their posts are valuable and provide a perspective I can not.

A historical example is Benjamin Franklin, his pseudonym Silence Dogood was a staple in James Franklin's paper the New England Courant. This middle aged widow character looked at the world through a particularly "cracked" lens and allowed Ben to protect himself from any public scrutiny that may result. Same here at Kicking-Back.

The name JAFO is actually an acronym.  If you really want to know what JAFO stands for, check out the 80's film called Blue Thunder.

Now one person who is not masking their identity is me, your humble host. I believe it is critical to have one "face" to show that we mean business and stand behind what is written here. As I have offered before, and I do so again now, if there are ideas for future entries, or a topic you want to spin up, please feel free to contact me here, or post directly to the blog entries, and we can make that happen.