You really think if Will Smith or Anthony Hargrove has a history of drug abuse and rule violations that were very embarrassing the league, that it's NOT going to weigh into Goodell's thinking at all? You really believe that? If Will Smith has a history of speeding tickets, and he ends up back in court in front of the same judge with a DUI or crashing his car or something more serious, you think the same judge is not going to take those speeding tickets into account? Get real. Of course the past matters, any kind of past, especially one that is embarrassing to the league and to the commissioner. You really think Payton or Vitt's past didn't influence Goodell at all? Look, we all want things to be fair, we believe they should be, but that does not mean that they are fair.

I think you misunderstood my intent. I was speaking more on the relevance of past actions on present accusations.

A past charge for smoking pot will weigh heavily on character in a gambling charge... But a past charge for smoking pot will weigh even heavier on a charge of possession of pot.. Similarly a history of bounties will weigh very heavily on a present charge of bounties.