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Agreed.  The team has a greater vested interest in the player than either the league or the NFLPA.  Teams should be allowed to contract independent health care professionals to administer whatever care the player requires.  Additionally, the health care professionals should be able to brief the team and league of the player's progress while keeping medical information private in accordance with HIPAA rules.  I concede, that's a fine line, but with disclosure waivers signed by the player it should be achievable.  Almost anything is better than the system currently in place.      


 

  If you leave it up to the teams they'll rubberstamp that a guy is ready to get back into the league while he's  filling out the application for reinstatement with a crackpipe dangling from his mouth.     The teams interest is getting the player on the field, and the all other considerations fall by the wayside.  There are also too many leaky sources around team facilities where confidentiality is of upmost importance (the fact that this thread is even started indicates the league does a very good job of this).  

 

  This isn't a situation where the player is banished and then shows up out of the blue a year later and says "I"m all better!!   I'm ready to apply back in the league !!"     The player is given a set of criteria and guidelines by Goodell he must meet before applying for reinstatement.  The league provides the player with all the necessary rehab, counseling and resources during suspension (not to mention random drug testing).       The league is getting constant updates as to the player's progress.   The league gets constant updates and keeps a lengthy paper trail as to how the player is doing.    I'm sure the teams get some general information as to how the progress is going from the league so they can steer their franchise accordingly, even if it's not involving specifics.    Whatever excuses Blackmon makes for himself, not having structure and resources will be the last of them.    We could be so lucky as to have the kind of structure and resources at our disposal by our employer in a similar situation.    In my job, get a little more harsh penalty than a year's suspension and unlimited paid for counseling when you've failed multiple drug tests or had numerous run ins with the law in 2 years. 

 

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There needs to be a structure in place to assure the team doesn't do that.  Let's not get ridiculous here. 

 

Yes, there are leaks within every organization, but teams would still be required to maintain that confidentiality by law.  If someone leaks, it shouldn't be difficult to determine where the information came from. 

 

Getting updates on the player's status, and trying to help him get the help necessary to put this behind him are two very different things.  Even if it's managed at the league level, there should be a mandatory, structured program that players are required to participate in if they want to get reinstated.  If they don't take advantage of the program, they're not getting back into the league. 

 

NFL players don't live or work in the real world, so comparing your job situation to theirs is about the same as comparing apples to bulldozers. 

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