League tries to help rookies avoid off-the-field trouble

The Green Bay Packers player dropped the football, then an unfortunate word.

Before the expletive's last sound escaped, he quickly covered his mouth.

No cursing on a football field? What gives?

Then again, this wasn't any field. It was the La Costa Resort and Spa, where the NFL's 2008 draft picks connected with kids at a recent football clinic. They were giving tips and supplying ---- for the most part ---- good examples.

Welcome to the sanitized version of the NFL, in which the league hopes its younger players follow the lead of its standup citizens ---- not those who make headlines for regrettable offenses.

"You realize that negative behavior and a negative perception in the media is not going to be tolerated within the NFL,'' said Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, the third player drafted in April.

The NFL's 252 spring selections who assembled last week for the league's annual rookie symposium at La Costa received a massage and a message. The league is sore about the impression that it's filled with lawbreakers and hooligans rather than role models.

"It sunk in with me for sure,'' said Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jake Long, the first overall pick. "You can't mess up, and you have to do the right thing.''

This draft class is the first since two significant events rocked the NFL: Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was sent to prison for engaging in a dogfighting ring, and star cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was suspended for the 2008 season after a series of run-ins with the law.

That two marquee players were forced to turn in their pads because of unlawful and/or unseemly acts didn't go unnoticed by the fresh crop of players. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is clear that his patience has expired for athletes who act like knuckleheads.

The rookie symposium, which featured current and former players and coaches as speakers, was the league's version of scaring the rookies straight.

"It's just an eye-opener, and it makes you start thinking about different situations more and more,'' said cornerback Antoine Cason, the Chargers' top pick. "Sometimes, it gets you speechless.''

NFL executives' fingers were crossed, hoping that their statement arrived loud and clear.

Any invitee who skipped the symposium ---- none did ---- was to be levied a $50,000 fine. Now, if any rookie develops off-the-field problems, the league can say it tried to warn him.

"They let us know what can happen if you're in a bad situation,'' Cason said, "and that is the biggest key.''

It's no lock that a rookie won't get rocked by a con artist, or be able to decline vices that find their way to his doorstep.

There were two figures the rookies said hit home: The average NFL career lasts about 3 1/2 years, and 21 members of last year's draft class were disciplined for substance abuse.

"That number jumps out at you, and we're possibly going to try and get that down to zero,'' said Oakland Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens, a former San Diego State player, about the drug-use figures. "Hopefully, everyone doesn't have to learn the hard way.''

But it's no easy task.

Loaded with money, often for the first time in their lives, rookies are susceptible to financial scams. Their athletic bodies and income make them targets of unscrupulous women. Excess idle hours can lead to missteps.

For many young men, the collection of obstacles forms the perfect storm. While they're coached for performance on the field, it's when they leave the gridiron that the real concerns begin.

That's evident in the age of an endless news cycle ---- there is no such thing as being anonymous.

Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher said it best: "You are not off the field until you close the door behind you in your apartment. As soon as you walk out of your door in the morning to come to my meeting, you are already on the field as you drive to the Titans' complex.''

That's the harsh reality of fans' insatiable thirst for any NFL gossip. Besdies the omnipresent media, anyone with a cell phone camera can catch a player in a compromising situation.

Plus, according to a Pro Football Hall of Fame member, law enforcement personnel long for the "gotcha" of arresting a well-known athlete. That wasn't always so during Willie Brown's 16-year career.

"We got in trouble, but our trouble wasn't quite like it was today,'' said Brown, a former Oakland Raiders cornerback who now works for the Raiders in player development. "Guys during my time, even if you were drunk as a skunk, the police would help you. The policeman would say, 'Oh, that's Willie or that's Johnny,' and they would give you a ride home.

"They wouldn't go to their buddies and say, 'Guess who I busted last night?' They wouldn't say, 'Oh, we got Dan Fouts driving down the street or we got Joe Namath ---- we busted him.' No way that would happen during Joe Namath's playing days. I guarantee he wouldn't go to jail, no way. But nowadays, they are looking for stuff like that, and the police are going to get you."

So the NFL tries to police its own before the handcuffs click. Among the ways the league does so is the rookie symposium, where they provide life lessons to draft picks from the first round to the last.

"The thing is their brain is still developing at their age,'' said Mike Haynes, the NFL's vice president of player and employee development, and, like Brown, a Pro Football Hall of Famer. "They are coping with making the right decision, and it's not just a few decisions. They get drafted and they are coming to a new city and they have this money. All of a sudden you have friends and family coming out of the woodwork, just wanting to hang out and be with them. They have to manage their money, pay taxes. Should they make an investment now? Purchase a house?

"If we can do a better job of educating the players before they get to the NFL, they can find out more about what is going on.''

Haynes, a former Carlsbad resident who worked for Callaway Golf, said these challenges are paramount.

"It's family and friends,'' he said, "and I also think it's driving under the influence. I think most people interpret it as not driving drunk. Instead, our policy in the NFL is very clear: If (players) had a couple of beers, they shouldn't drive. Even if they don't think they are over the limit, it still changes the way you think and respond to different things. If we could minimize that, that would be great.''

It's a tough sell, Haynes admits ---- even though the repercussions are clear here in San Diego, where former Chargers linebacker Steve Foley had his career prematurely ended nearly two years ago.

An off-duty policeman followed Foley to his Poway home, suspecting him of driving drunk. The incident ended with Foley being shot three times.

"The challenge is, to these young people, it's fun to go out. It's a lot of fun,'' Haynes said. "And we challenge the guys to be responsible or have a designated driver."

The Chargers implemented a safe-ride program for their players. They can call a number at any time and get a lift home ---- no questions asked.

"That has really been helpful, and it makes sense,'' Haynes said.

Getting young players to have the sense to listen is Haynes' dream.

Among those speaking at the symposium were Jared Allen, the Minnesota Vikings defensive end, and free-agent wide receiver Koren Robinson. Both have a history of alcohol abuse, and both found a captive audience.

"We want them to know that other people have walked in their shoes,'' Haynes said. "And there are a lot of resources out there to manage different problems.''

Added Brown: "What it comes down to is we want them to be as successful off the field as well as on the field.''

But the NFL landscape has shifted dramatically since Brown played from 1963-1978. Back then, players were a part of the community fabric, for the simple reason that they stayed with one team longer.

"When I was playing, if you were a professional player, people looked out for you; they were out to help you and make sure nothing would happen to you,'' Brown said. "During my time, you could be on a team six, seven, eight, 12 years. Today, you are lucky to be there five years, and that is the biggest difference ---- now people don't know them. They knew us in Oakland, they knew me when I walked down the street, and it was, 'Hey Willie, how you doing?' And you would sit down and talk.

"Nowadays, you can't do that out there because there are too many things that could happen to them.''

St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long has his roots in both the past and present NFL. His father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, can offer him perspective on the dos and don'ts.

"He has hammered away at me through my life on the way to just conduct yourself and things to watch out for,'' said Chris Long, the second overall pick in April.

Chris Long isn't short on smarts. While he realizes that the league wants its players to find the straight and narrow for their own good, it's good for the NFL,, too.

"The great thing about the NFL is they are in it for us, and they are trying to protect us and market us correctly,'' he said. "That's why I think it's the best league in the world."

If it takes being educated from those who were once in a world of trouble, so be it.

"I think sometimes it takes unfortunate mistakes of others, that anybody could make, to teach the lesson to younger people,'' Chris Long said. "We are fortunate enough to be in position to have all these resources, and the league wants to help us. If they protect us and our interests, it is in their interest.

"So we have examples, some good and bad. That's not to say these are not good people that made mistakes, but we would be foolish not to learn from them.''

According to the players, it's the right way to run a company ---- especially a billion-dollar entity like the NFL.

"The NFL has a great brand, and its players are probably its greatest asset,'' said Ryan, who will replace Vick as the face of the Falcons' franchise. "And they need people that are going to act in a positive way. Guys realize that, and I think that has changed a little of the culture.''

Schilens said the NFL's stringent approach isn't going unnoticed.

"With the new NFL policy and the commissioner, they are enforcing conduct a lot and stressing how to act when you go out," he said. "Not only how to act on the field, but off the field. You are representing the NFL and the NFL shield the best you can. You have to have respect for the league and the other rookies.''

Not to mention a watchful world that never sleeps.

"They have no idea that they really become targets, because everybody knows who they are and how much money they make,'' Haynes said. "Another thing is, anything they do, especially if it is negative, gets magnified."

Being under that magnifying glass can derail careers. That's why the NFL is banking on its newest players staying on the right track.

"You come into this league and you don't know anything,'' Jake Long said. "You get drafted and you go right to (offseason) workouts, then camp, and you don't know what to expect about the stuff you are going to go through.''

That makes the symposium an integral part of the NFL introduction.

"They didn't sugarcoat anything,'' Jake Long said. "It's real life now, and there are big consequences if you mess up. They told us they want the NFL to succeed and for us to succeed. And, you are going to have to work hard at it.''

Packers wide receiver Brett Swain agrees.

"It's common-sense stuff,'' said Swain, a Carlsbad High graduate. "But you need to hear it because stuff happens all the time.''

Even at the symposium, according to profootballtalk.com. The widely read Web site for NFL news and rumors reported that Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookies Aqib Talib and Cory Boyd got into a fight during the budget and finance meeting.

While the session was over a fistful of dollars, the combatants couldn't get past the "fist" part.

"Guys are going to get in trouble,'' Cason said. "I hope they don't, but stuff happens ---- it's life. Hopefully, more people than not can avoid it."