How Hard Are NFL Teams Actually Vetting Draft Picks?

[joeybee12]

Following the NFL draft, when general managers and coaches were asked to talk about the potential impact players they'd just selected, some were delicately approached about the character and legal issues their rookies have faced.

The answers reveal what due diligence looks like from inside the NFL bubble, where a roster of 75 witnesses may be carefully curated.

Peter King spoke to Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht about the investigation into a rape allegation against Jameis Winston, and why that didn't involve making Erica Kinsman the 76th person interviewed. Were the Bucs just listening for what they wanted to hear?

"That's not the case," Licht said adamantly in King's story. "We are not talking about this now ... but we read the depositions. We knew what she was going to say. This was a thorough investigation. We were not going to mistake charisma for character."

Tampa coach Lovie Smith said before the draft how important it is to "look a guy in the eye and feel comfortable with the answers that you're getting."

But looking a woman in the eye? Getting answers that might make you uncomfortable? After months of education on sexual assault and domestic violence, NFL teams still don't seem to be ready to sit down and talk to women. In that case, it appears a deposition will suffice.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/12818993/how-hard-nfl-teams-actually-vetting-draft-picks

Basically they're not vetting them at all...and raed farther see what major asshole Bears owner has to say...phuckhead.

[trumad]

1. Not very well.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. That's Gonna Leave A Mark!

Well played, Tru.

[joeybee12]

3. He murdered after he was drafted...

Winston raped before he was drafted...

[trumad]

4. He was a douchebag at Florida---

But even before the 23-year-old's recent arrest, public records and interviews show he had been involved in police inquiries in the past, first in Florida and then in the Boston area.

A sworn court complaint from Florida's Eighth Judicial Circuit details Hernandez's apparent involvement in an April 2007 fight at a restaurant called The Swamp in Gainesville. The partially redacted document says the restaurant worker told police that Hernandez, who was then 17, punched him in the head while he was escorting the subject out of the business after a dispute about payment of a bill.

Tim Tebow, now a member of the Patriots and at the time Florida's star quarterback, is listed as a witness. The report said Hernandez asked him to intervene in the verbal dispute before the assault.

The complaint classifies the offense as "felony battery." It wasn't clear Tuesday how the case was resolved.

Also in 2007, Hernandez was among three Florida football players and another who had gone on to the NFL who were questioned by Gainesville police after a double shooting that happened after a Florida loss. Police said the players provided the information investigators wanted. No charges were filed.

AS CBSSports.com's Ryan Wilson notes, Hernandez left the University of Florida as a Mackey Award winner (given annually to college football's best tight end), but concerns about his behavior away from the game saw him last until the fourth round when the Patriots finally drafted him.

Lousy vetting eh?

[madinmaryland]

7. Heh! A felon and a liar on one picture!!!

[RockaFowler]

5. Seattle didn't do a good job either

http://deadspin.com/the-seahawks-didnt-care-whether-frank-clark-punched-a-w-1702249803

The Seattle Seahawks went on the defensive when they drafted former Michigan defensive end Frank Clark, who was kicked off his college team after being arrested on charges of domestic violence last November. Facing criticism of the second-round selection, team executives claimed that they had conducted a thorough investigation into the incident, and determined that Clark did not in fact hit a woman. According to a devastating report from the Seattle Times, neither of those things is true.

After Clark was selected, Seahawks GM John Schneider held a conference call with reporters, and assured them that the team had gone above and beyond while investigating the accusations against Clark. (Via SeattlePI.com):

“Our organization has an in-depth understanding of Frank Clark’s situation and background,” Schneider told reporters in Renton after the second and third rounds on Friday. “We have done a ton of research on this young man. There hasn’t been one player in this draft that we have spent more time researching and scrutinizing more than Frank. That’s why we have provided Frank with this opportunity and are looking forward to him succeeding in our culture here in Seattle.”

Yesterday, Schneider went on 710 ESPN radio and reiterated his conclusion, based on the team’s allegedly thorough investigation, that Clark had not actually struck his then-girlfriend. Schneider told the hosts that the team “absolutely” would not have drafted Clark if they believed that he had hit a woman. He added, “In my opinion, if you strike a woman, you’re off our board. I’m sorry, there’s just no two ways about it.”


Read the article for all of the wonderful things this young man has done over the past few years. But the Seahawks vetted him so well.

[Capt. Obvious]

6. Thanks for posting...

I now know who to ignore.