Fresh on the heels of the suspensions of the Vikings Adrian Peterson and the Panthers Greg Hardy, Florida State has suspended star quarterback Jameis Winston for the first half of this weekend's game against Clemson, and now we have learned that Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer has joined this growing list.
A little known, and seldom used, list in the NFL called the exemption list has been utilized by both the Vikings and the Panthers on Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy, respectively, which means that both players have been deactivated until further notice; yet both players will still receive their full salaries while they remain on this list. The teams sent out the following tweets today:
Zygi Wilf: "Our goal is to always make the decision we believe is right for the Minnesota Vikings."
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 17, 2014
Zygi Wilf: "It's important to always listen to our fans, our community and our sponsors."
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 17, 2014
#Panthers GM Dave Gettleman: "There is no rule book for this. Our overriding goal has always been to do the right thing."
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 17, 2014
Now a third member joins the list of suspensions, as the Cardinals have deactivated their starting running back, Jonathan Dwyer, from all team activities as he was arrested, according to ESPN.com, on charges of aggrevated assault. The team sent out the following tweet a short while ago:
Statement from the #AZCardinals on RB Jonathan Dwyer. pic.twitter.com/Xx183nMMaC
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 17, 2014
Over in the NCAA, Florida State has suspended starting quarterback Jameis Winston for the first half of Saturday's game for using obsene and vulgar language on campus grounds. In response to the incident, Coach Jimbo Fisher stated "You can't make certain statements that are derogatory of inflammatory to any person, race of gender. You have to understand that. You have to be ver intelligent about what you say, (because) it matters." Winston issued the following statement in regards to his suspension "First of all, I want to apologize to the university, my coaches and to my teammates. I'm not a 'me" person, but in that situation, it was a selfish act, and that's not how you do things around here. I want to apologize to my teammates because I have now made a selfish act for them. That's all."
More details will be coming in the Dwyer situation, but it is another dent in the great sport of football, and another blow to the character of the NFL. As for Jameis, it is another example of his immaturity taking the spotlight away from the team and shining it on himself in a negative fashion.
It appears that the snowball effect is just beginning….
