With not enough players yet on parole or in work release programs, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the cancellation of the upcoming pro football season.
“We know this is a drastic measure, but with more than half of the league’s players in jail or waiting on parole hearings and arraignments, we have little alternative,” Goodell told the NFL Network. “Most teams simply don’t have enough players to compete.”
Using the Tennessee Titans as a prime example, the Commissioner said the league considered playing 7 on 7 games, but scrapped the idea after further consideration.
“The Titans can’t even field seven players. They lead the league in one category, and that’s players who are incarcerated. Their entire defensive team is taking up a wing of the Charles B. Bass Correctional Complex in Nashville.”
In an effort to work with state penitentiary officials, the NFL has put forth a plan to sway authorities to build future prisons near existing football stadiums.
“It is our hope that prison officials will consider the plan,” said Goodell. “This way, the players can walk to work each Sunday.”
