Sheriff Goodell is going a little too far with this new regime, don't you think?

A couple of years ago, nobody blinked after the NFL decided to sanction against touchdown celebrations that involved a team member other than the one actually scoring, since the "No-Fun League" has made a habit of curtailing pretty much every shred of individuality in the interest of becoming as tame and non-offensive as possible, most probably motivated by the aftermath of Janet Jackson's "Nipplegate" and its negative impact with sponsors and the nuclear American family.

However, I honestly think this time they are going too far. The fine  on Terrell Owens for mocking the New England Patriots' video taping incident is not only arbitrary, it's a veritable act of bullish, absurd censorship most properly associated with a North Korean dictatorship than with America's most popular sport.

Was T.O. out of line by mocking a reprehensible act? Hardly. I'm no fan of his multiple antics, especially when they involve the fabricated drama and distracting environment he has fostered in virtually every season he has been in the spotlight as an All-Star wide receiver (he was quite discreet, even timid during his early days in the league, remember?). I've had it with his comments on Garcia and McNabb, his contract grumblings and his "suicide/not suicide attempts".

This time, however, he simply made his own comment on an embarrassing topic that wasn't his creation in the first place, in a way that isn't that distant from other players loudly mocking Belichick's acts and the possibility of their previous encounters with the Patriots being tainted, as well.

What T.O. did is called satire. And it's not something new, either. You can find it everywhere, from Fan I.Q. to The Onion, from Frank Calliendo's interventions in Fox's pregame shows to Leno's monologue. It's harmless, like Mark Grace in the Chicago Cub's batting practice, brandishing a bat prominently adorned with a champagne cork and saying he borrowed it from Sammy Sosa the day after the slugger's corking incident of 2003. It's even witty, in a weird sort of way, like Chad Johnson's displaying a sign in the end zone where he pleaded with the league not to be fined for his celebrations (a fruitless gesture, by the way). It might not be your cup of tea, but it's hardly the stuff that merits economical sanctions of this magnitude.

If the NFL thinks it's helping the public forget about the Patriots' taping incident by fining Owens, they're in for a surprise. Their knee-jerk reaction to T.O. mimicking an old-school, hand-cranked camera clumsily hidden behind the goalpost is exactly the kind of response that helps perpetuate an issue in the fans' collective mindset.

If we've learned anything from this turbulent offseason and early games, it's that nothing takes our attention from a scandal like, well, a newer scandal. The Pacman Jones incident was trumped by Tank Johnson, who was trumped by Michael Vick, who was trumped by HGH, who was trumped by Bill Belichick's peeping tactics. Time will tell if a certain disgraced Hall-Of_Famer's recent brush with the Las Vegas P.D. will turn our attention from "Coach Bill's Funniest Home Videos".

Honestly, I never thought I would defend T.O. in a public forum, but I just discovered I could drop Voltaire's name by quoting his most famous phrase: "I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it".

Although, in this case, I kind of agree with you, T.O.  And I guess I have Sheriff Goodell to thank for that.
Source: (Foxsports.com)