Mike Celizic

Ever since he was named last August to succeed Paul Tagliabue as NFL commissioner, we’ve been waiting to see what kind of leader Roger Goodell would be. With his decision on Adam “Pacman” Jones and Chris Henry, we have an answer: tough and decisive, but not dictatorial.

The one-year suspension levied on Jones and the eight-game unpaid vacation imposed on Henry for multiple run-ins with the law are stiff penalties. Jones, especially, is a top performer, and taking him away from the Titans will hurt not just the player, but the team and its fans, as well. No commissioner interested in the product on the field takes such actions lightly.

But no commissioner interested in the long-term perception — and success — of the league can afford to let such behavior go unpunished.

Jones has been interviewed by police on 10 different occasions and was most recently involved in an incident during the NBA All-Star weekend at a strip club in Las Vegas that ended in a fight and a shooting that left a man paralyzed.

Henry was arrested four times in 14 months and was one of nine Bengals arrested in a nine-month span last year.

Both teams will be weaker on the field because of the suspensions. But you don’t hear the team owners or coaches complaining. Nor do you hear the NFL Players’ Association threatening lawsuits and appeals.

David J. Phillip / AP NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

That’s because everyone who cares about the league understands that the product is only as good the public perception of it. If the customers decide that the league embraces people of low moral fiber, decline sets in. And once an attitude takes hold, it’s hard to change it.

The NBA is experiencing that. Although the league has fewer on-court fights than other sports, the perception of some is that it is a haven for thugs. To combat that, commissioner David Stern last year imposed a dress code and this year started coming down hard on misbehavior during games.

The difference between what Stern is doing and what Goodell did is that Stern’s actions have raised cries of protest from players and even coaches, saying he’s going too far. Stern acts like a benevolent dictator who tells everyone, "This is how it’s going to be."

Goodell, on the other hand, acted only after a consensus had been reached among all interested groups — owners, management and players. Without that consensus, he couldn’t have acted as decisively as he did.

There’s little question that the days of letting players go with a stern talking-to and a ceremonial slap on the wrist are gone. Increasingly, the perception of the character of professional athletes is a concern, whether it involves troubles with the law or performance-enhancing drugs, and the NFL is in step with Major League Baseball and the NBA in becoming more aggressive in cultivating an image that won’t scare away the paying customers.

Where NBA players wonder what all the fuss is about, NFL players understand what’s at stake. And Goodell laid it out bluntly in letters to the two players.

"Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league," Goodell wrote.

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