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7 Ridiculous NFL Suspensions

Sophia Li |
September 11, 2014 | 12:57 p.m. PDT

Web Producer

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has come under fire as more details about the Ray Rice incident have surfaced. (Mark Dayton / Flickr)
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has come under fire as more details about the Ray Rice incident have surfaced. (Mark Dayton / Flickr)
The Ray Rice ordeal is only the tip of the iceberg.

Rice's initial 2-game suspension and the circumstances it took for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to take further action has enraged the nation, but the NFL has a long record of handing out uneven suspensions.

The most glaring example is Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington, who will sit out the entire 2014 season. Washington tested positive for marijuana for the second time last spring, just a few weeks after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Washington's season suspension was based entirely on his violation of NFL's substance abuse policy. 

In other words, the NFL immediately gave Washington a 1-year suspension for smoking some weed, but has done nothing in nine months to punish his domestic violence.  

Here are seven other examples of ridiculous NFL suspensions:

1. Cedric Benson

The Cincinnati Bengals running back pleaded 'no contest' to assaulting a bar employee in 2010. His NFL punishment? A stern talking-to from Goodell. Benson didn't get a suspension at all until he pleaded 'no contest' to another assault in 2011, and even then, his initial three-game suspension was reduced to just one game. 

2. Ricky Manning Jr. 

A similar situation happened to the former Chicago Bears running back in 2006. Manning Jr. received a one-game suspension after assaulting a man outside a Denny's. 

3. Josh Gordon

Testing positive for marijuana got the Browns receiver a suspension 15-games more severe than either Manning jr. or Benson. After Gordon tested positive for marijuana for the third time, he was suspended for the entire 2014 season.

4. Jeremy Bridges

When the former Carolina Panthers offensive lineman pointed a gun at a stripper in 2007, he was only suspended for two games.

5. Aaron Berry

The former Detroit Lions Cornerback outdid Bridges in 2012 by pointing a gun at three people, only a month after he was arrested for a DUI. He was suspended for three games. By these standards, a player could point a gun at two people and drive under the influece, and only be given a one-game suspension.

6. Plaxico Burress 

Thanks to Burress, all NFL players now know that the league punishment for shooting yourself in the leg with an illegally-possessed handgun is pretty light. Although the criminal possession of a firearm can carry a sentence of 3.5 to 15 years in prison, the former Giants wide receiver was only suspended for the last four games of the 2008 season .

7. Wes Walker

Taking Adderall got the Denver Broncos receiver the same punishment as Burress. Welker will be out for the first four games of the 2014 season.

Reach Web Producer Sophia Li here. Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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