Capella University

Lew Patton

Capella University

MBA6900

Unit 6, Assignment 1

Capstone Project

9/30/2017

Introduction

The Dallas Cowboys football club is the most valuable sports team in the world,(Badenhausen, 2017).My capstone project is the Dallas Cowboys, and the project overview is how to determine which players to draft who won’t have a tendency to violate the NFL’s personal conduct policy by having domestic abuse issues, or a history of drug abuse that would violate said policy and suspension from play for the team.The team has won 5 Super Bowls and has the nick-name “America’s Team” due to the extreme popularity among its fan base that is world-wide. The team has been in the National Football League since 1960 and has proven to be innovative, and successful in many areas of business. The owner and general manager of the team is Jerry Jones,who purchased the team in 1989 for a price of $140 million dollars and the team is worth $4.2 billion dollars today.The Dallas Cowboys empire includes AT&T Stadium where the games are played and the new practice facility in Frisco Texas, aptly named “the Star” that add additional wealth to the fortunes of the football club.

Executive Summary

The scope in this project will detail how a successful organization like the Cowboys can work with players who may or might run in to trouble in their personal lives such as domestic abuse issues, drug usage, and alcohol abuse, so that the team can identify and work with identified players after they are drafted by the club. Even though the Cowboys are a very successful team, there are issues with players being penalized by the NFL which means some players can’t participate in practice or games because they have violated the personal conduct policy set by the NFL and the NFL Player’s Union. I will discuss that policy in detail and state the purpose of that agreement as part of the player’s contract and how it applies to the team.

The Cowboys have several players that will not be able to begin playing until the 5th game of the season due to league suspensions. My scope will be to identify problems with players even before they are drafted as well how to handle players after they are part of the team in handing personal problems that had been identified previously.

The question comes in to play as to why players get in to trouble with domestic abuse and or substance abuse. I will address those questions and offer solutions to those problems and needs by the team. I will have a template devised for these types of players and try to determine any common reasons for their actions.

Included in my scope is a solution for the way the Cowboys draft players. I want to discuss how rearranging the general manager position might help in creating a new policy on the way the Cowboys draft new players and how there could be new policies so that any players with shaded backgrounds could be disqualified for consideration to the team.

Summary: There are on-going legal issues going on for some Cowboys players.

Ethics

Continuous improvement programs are sprouting up all over as organizations strive to better themselves and gain an edge. The topic list is long and varied, and sometimes it seems as though a program a month is needed just to keep up. Unfortunately, failed programs far outnumber successes, and improvement rates remain distressingly low. Why? Because most companies have failed to grasp a basic truth. Continuous improvement requires a commitment to learning. (Garvin, 1993).The Dallas Cowboys, as other teams in the NFL, are governed by a personal conduct policy in their contracts. As in life, the personal conduct policy states a player should have satisfactory good conduct, and not subject themselves to unwanted press or create situations where they would publically embarrass themselves or their team.

Dallas' tolerance for risk and then for failed risks is too much when they lead the NFL in both categories that matter in this discussion: total suspensions given by the league to each team and total man-games lost to those suspensions. If the Cowboys had a high number of suspensions but they were for one game each, maybe this is no big deal. If they had two suspensions but for many games, then we would say it is a few isolated incidents. Unfortunately, the reality is that the Cowboys led the NFL in both categories. And to make matters worse, they lead them both by a healthy (or quite unhealthy) margin. (Sturm 2017).

When Cowboys fansenter AT&T Stadium this fall, they will be walking into a monument to consumption: Miller Lite pours, loud music pumps, dancers prance in shorty shorts, fireworks explode, and Greek gods beat the hell out of each other. This happens in a cavernous spaceship that never leaves the ground. To slake the thirst of its rabble, AT&T Stadium racks up more beer, wine, and liquor receipts than anywhere else in Texas. (Moore, 2016)

Ethics are a key ingredient for business owners. Without the appearance of good, ethical business behavior, the company brand can be severely tarnished. Likewise, a poor ethical company will severely lose business and can cost the company millions of dollars without ethical values.

The Dallas Cowboys have had several players with unethical values since Jerry Jones purchased the Cowboys. Michel Irvin, Deion Sanders and an entire laundry list of folks with bad ethical values have played for the Cowboys. How long will this unethical vein continue to run in the Cowboys system? I can give my opinion that as long as Jerry Jones is also the General Manager, these ethical or unethical values will remain the same in the name of winning.

Findings

Here are the findings of the current suspensions of the Cowboys:

As you can see, the list includes everything from performance enhancing drugs to manslaughter. Every penalty from 2 games suspension to 10 games. There must be a better way to identify and make better decisions sooner as to whether the team wants those kinds of players or to simply not hire those types of players to begin with. The ethics of the player is crucial in determining if they can/will play on game day. Do the Cowboys need to have a different policy on draft day? Do they need to change who makes those draft day decisions? How do you convince the owner and general manager to change policy for the good of the team? In an effort to reveal certain issues, let’s look at specific players and problems with said players:

Specific Players who have had suspensions for violation of various NFL policies:

2017:

David Irving: Has been suspended for the first four games of the 2017 season for a violation of the league’s performance enhancing drug policy. Irving took a banned over-the-counter performance enhancing drug. While this sounds simplistic, the ban carries a huge weight as far as a penalty goes.

"Everything listed on the bottle was fine. It was supposed to be all natural, but [it

had] a hidden ingredient," Irving said. "It was a substance that actually wasn't even

listed on the bottle. When I asked about the substance, they don't even know the

substance. I guess my testosterone levels were too high.

"It gets you going. I started taking it after the season when you're not working out

with the team, you know, something to get my ass in the gym. It's funny, I thought I

was hitting a second puberty." (George 2017)

An early warning sign that David Irving may have character issues is that in 2014, Irving was dismissed from his college football team at Iowa State University for an incident at the college VEISHA Festival. The incident marred the festival to the degree that the school discontinued the festival permanently from the school going forward. Irving was seen carrying a stop sign at the riot and smiling. To me at least, this would constitute an early warning sign if a player was released from his college football team. That wasn’t Irving’s only run-in with the law either. According to the Iowa State Daily, Irving had previously been charged with domestic abuse causing injury. Charges were later dropped in that case. Certainly the Cowboys knew of the ethics involved with this player before they drafted him, yet took the risk anyway, hoping to get results as opposed to integrity.

Shaquille Evans: Shquille Evans had a very promising career and was a notable college player at UCLA. Evans originally attended Notre Dame but transferred to UCLA in 2013 as it was closer to his home. Evans bounced from being drafted by the Jets, Jaguars, and Patriots to getting a chance with the Cowboys this season, only to be suspended by the league for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The Cowboys then release Evans a week after the suspension. It’s difficult to know what will be in store for Evans now, but injuries and this drug suspension may mean the end to a promising career. Evans was known for being a hot-head on the field. (Wang, 2013). Jerry Jones and company should have seen this coming as well.

Randy Gregory: Perhaps the biggest bust for the Cowboys has been Gregory. Gregory has failed seven drug tests. Gregory’s troubles can be clearly identified starting in college, He wanted to attend Purdue University but was ruled academically ineligible, so he enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He did very well there and was projected as a very high first round pick. The first sign of problems occurred at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine he failed the drug test for marijuana. It is important to note here that Gregory’s draft stock went from the high first round of the draft to the bottom of the second round. The Cowboys paid no attention to what other teams knew, and he selected Gregory in the bottom of the second round and was selected 60th overall. In 2015 his first season, he suffered a high ankle sprain and missed the next four games. In February 2016, Gregory was suspended the first four games of the season for failing his first drug test. In just a few months later, he failed his second drug test and entered a substance abuse treatment facility. After failing the second drug test, he was given an additional ten game suspension, making him ineligible to play until December 19th of 2016. On November 11, it was reported he failed a third drug test and was facing a year-long suspension added to his current 14 game suspension. It was finally ruled he would be suspended for the entire 2017 season. It really is amazing how a player can be suspended three times in one season. Even more amazing is the fact that Gregory didn’t even show up for his third drug test, essentially just “blowing it off.” “Gregory has been in Stage 3 of the NFL's substance abuse policy and will remain in the final stage of the program throughout the rest of his career. In Stage 3, a player is subject to unannounced testing up to 10 times in a month.” (George, 2017). Jerry Jones and company should have seen the warning signs for Gregory, but apparently just could not resist the temptation to draft this individual with drug problems. It’s my opinion Jones was just so tempted to think he could change a drug addict to a great football player. Here is the shocking part of this entire story on Gregory: Owner Jerry Jones came to Gregory’s defense when told Gregory failed a seventh drug test: “I would be very skeptical” Jones said. (Wilson 2017)

2016:

Rolando McClain:He is currently a free agent very likely out of pro football permanently after failed drug tests and weapon charges. McClain had great ability and played on the National Championship team at Alabama in 2010 as an All-American. He was selected eighth overall in the 2010 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders. McClain had a stellar college career at Alabama and seemed as though he was well on his way to a successful career. The problems with McClain first started appearing once he started playing pro football.He started his NFL career in 2010 and struggled the entire time with nagging injuries and poor personal decisions. I believe 2012 was a turning point in his career when he received a lot of reduction in playing time while with the Oakland Raiders. He fell out of the good graces of coach and staff. He was then waived by the Raiders in 2013, then signed with the Ravens. McClain signed with the Ravens in April of 2013, then a month later claimed he was retired. He never played a down for the Ravens and I’m not certain if he ever paid any monies back to the team for his signing. That should have been a serious character flaw and ethical issue for Jerry Jones, but Jones seemingly ignored the issue has McClain had a great recommendation from his college coach Nick Saban. In 2016 after signing a contract with the Cowboys, he was suspended for the second season in a row following the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Once again the handwriting was on the wall for Jerry Jones and staff, but once again, they chose to sign a player with a poor ethical background. What information did the Cowboys have before they signed McClain? Here are the results:

“On December 1, 2011, McClain was arrested by Decatur police and charged with third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, and discharging a firearm inside the city limits, all of which are misdemeanors, for a shooting incident that occurred the night before.On May 17, 2012, McClain was found guilty on all counts, ordered to pay a $500 fine for each charge, totaling $2,000, and sentenced to spend 45 days in jail for each charge, 180 in total. He was freed on bond, and will begin serving his sentence on June 1.On November 18, 2012, while the case was on appeal, the charges were dismissed by the Judge after the victim decided not to press charges. According to lawyers involved, a financial settlement was reached between McClain and the victim.

On January 8, 2013, he was arrested by Decatur Police in Morgan County after an officer pulled him over for a window tint violation. McClain provided the officer with a false name and he was arrested and booked into the Decatur City Jail. McClain bonded out of jail later that day.

On April 21, 2013, McClain was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.” (Smith, 2011)

Demarcus Lawrence: Was suspended four games in 2016 for violating the league’ssubstance abuse policy.

Joseph Randle: Randle was an excellent prospect coming out of college at Oklahoma State in 2013. The Cowboys selected him in the 5th round of the 2013 NFL draft and looked like a great acquisition. He was the back-up running back to DeMarco Murray and had 161 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie season. It is amazing how minor legal issues mounted and became much bigger issues for Randle. His legal troubles began 2014 when he was arrested for shoplifting at a Dillard’s Department Store. He was arrested for shoplifting men’s underwear and cologne which is a Class B misdemeanor. In July of 2015 his case was put on 180 days ofdeferred adjudication. The theft charge could have been set aside had he stayed out of trouble for 180 days. That did not happen. “On February 4, 2015, Randle was arrested in Kansas around 3:00 a.m. by Wichita Police for unlawful possession of marijuana. Officers showed up to the hotel where Randle was renting a room after receiving a report of domestic violence with a weapon. Police found Randle and a 22-year-old woman at the hotel and observed marijuana in the room. Randle was issued a notice to appear in front of a judge, but was not booked nor was a mug shot taken. In April 2015, the Wichita District Attorney's office announced that Randle would not face any charges, citing a lack of evidence. Randle, 25, will be sentenced June 7 on one count each of aggravated battery, aggravated burglary, criminal threat and possession of marijuana.

Jurors also acquitted Randle of one count of aggravated battery and could not reach unanimous verdicts on two other counts of aggravated battery and one count of criminal damage to property.

Prosecutors will decide next week whether to retry Randle on the counts that hung jurors, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said” (Leiker, 2017)

2015:

R.J. Dill: “Already facing an uphill climb to make the Dallas Cowboys’ 53-man roster, offensive linemanR. J. Dillhas been suspended the first four games of the regular season (2015) for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.” (Archer 2015)

Dill released a lengthy statement to the charge. Here is his reply to his suspension: