Five Minutes with Frag - Summer School for Dummies

It was announced late last night that Broncos Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge stemming from a fight in Atlanta early Sunday Morning. This is Marshall's first arrest since serving a one-game suspension for violating the NFL's Personal Conduct policy last season.

Wake-up call to Roger Goodell...punishment is not a strong enough deterrent for these guys anymore; you need to step up the game!

Marshall, Adam "Pac-Man" Jones, and a slue of other NFL players, despite their so-called best efforts, are continually finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. That in turn puts them in the crosshairs of the NFL's Personal Conduct policy and within reach of a possible league suspension.

Now, I may be incorrect in saying this, but it seems to me that the majority of these issues occur during the off-season or during player downtime. So does it stand to show that players gave TOO MUCH downtime?

Obviously, there is no fear or deterrent in place currently that is swaying these players away from their misdeeds successfully. Whatever they're doing now, it isn't working. So maybe someone needs to tell them how to do it right.

Youth diversion programs are set-up throughout the country in order help keep troubled kids off the streets. That being said, maybe the answers here aren't suspension or pay cuts, maybe it comes down to nothing more than summer camp for the deviants! That's right; create an offseason program where these guys are busy non-stop providing community service. Rather than give them more time on their hands to roll in their millions and create mischief with, put that time to use by putting them out in these diversion centers, educating both themselves and the youth of their respective cities in the detriments of breaking the law.

Let's look at Marshall as an example of this. Marshall was turning his life around a bit by providing his time to the Darrent Williams Youth Centers in Denver during the season. He was making a difference, both in his own world, and in that of the kids he was working with. Now, this isn't saying that Marshall turned his back on that program, but he failed to capitalize on the opportunity to devote his newly found extra time to stepping up his efforts there rather than in the courtroom.

Trying to beat these guys down is definitely not working. Some people you just can't get through to under the threat of punishment. Sometimes you need to step in and take a dedicated approach to reforming some people by showing them what good they can be doing through their respective positions in the box score rather than their spots on the police blotter!