Troy Vincent ready to tackle NFL player discipline
Troy Vincent hasn't had the typical climb up the ladder in becoming a major NFL powerbroker.
The former defensive back was recently named executive vice president of football operations, promoted after serving four years as vice president of player engagement. In his new role, Vincent, 43, oversees officiating, player discipline, game operations and more. He previously focused on off the field issues.
NFLPA: New president Eric Winston Q by the way, he earned five Pro Bowl selections and NFL Man of the Year honors during a 15 year career that began in 1992 when the Dolphins drafted him as a first round cornerback (seventh overall) from Wisconsin. He has covered a lot of ground.
Excerpts from Vincent's extended interview with USA TODAY officialbuccaneersnflauthentic.com/authentic-akeem-spence-jersey.html Sports NFL columnist Jarrett Bell:
Q: You're making quite the transition from one crucial post in the league office to another. What's striking to you about your new position?
TV: "I'm back on the field. I'm in the weeds, the fabric of football. Over the last few days as I was looking over materials, it was, 'Ok, I'm back on this side of our business again.' I spent 14 years as a player evaluating why something worked or not. In talking to the coaches and GMs, there's been a lot of natural synergies."
Q. While with the NFL players union, you were often on the side of defending players with regard to NFL imposed discipline. Now player discipline falls under your umbrella as a key responsibility. So you've traded places, so to speak. What will that dynamic be like for you?
TV: "I have some thoughts. I'm having this data pulled right now: Tell me about my high risk players. Players that were fined previously. Tell me about those who are right on the edge of us having to take action. I want to visit with them, their clubs, their agents, and let's talk about how do we adjust? The objective is Austin Seferian-Jenkins Kids Jersey not to take your money. I've been there before. And defended you on that side. But let's talk about what you're seeing. Help me to assist you. Were you just out of place? Did you take the proper angle? Just sitting down and having that real conversation so that we can prevent taking that player off the field, but also driving the awareness that is the way we have to keep the game safe."
Q: It's no surprise that the NFL has outlawed dunking over the goal post, considering the game in Atlanta last season that was delayed a half hour after that hanging on the rim encounter featuring Jimmy Graham. How do you think that will go over with fans?
TV: "Friday night I get home, and it's the first time I see my family in 15 days. Everybody's home, all seven of us. Troy, Jr, says, 'Ok, Mr. EVP, what are you going to do next?' My middle schooler (Taron) says. 'Y'all are taking the fun out of the game. Why can't they dunk anymore?' The reason is the goal post gets off kilter, and the time of delay to fix it could be 30 minutes. My son said, 'Y'all didn't say that.' OK, learning moment. It's not about the celebration. And now we're adding 5 feet to the uprights. A delay wouldn't be good for the players, the fans at the stadium or the viewers."
Q: You hear that Graham has vowed to continue to dunk regardless of the penalties or fines?
TV: "I'd like to have that conversation with Jimmy, to understand why. It's not to take away his signature celebration. It's the time."
Q: I know they can make millions, but it has always seemed rather silly to me that some players have said they'd pay a fine rather than conform on some things. Ever wonder about players who don't care and will just throw away money like that?
TV: "I've had that same conversation in the locker room. I had a teammate like that on every team I played on. Why give your money away? Is it that important? When guys say it, though, it's often an emotional response when they get asked a question. My thing is, don't give up your Paragraph 5 (the section of the standard NFL contract that spells out salary). You've worked too hard to earn that."
Q: In your previous role, I'd think that an inherent obstacle was gaining trust of players to engage in league sponsored services. No matter how genuine the programs, they are still coming from the Mike Evans Kids Jersey employer. How did you deal with that?
TV: "That was a challenge coming in. There wasn't a lot of human engagement. We just moved it from a transactional to a relational engagement. Getting players to trust, you're always going to have elements of trust and mistrust. But getting the players to understand that we're here to support you is the key. I know we're on the employer side, but the services and the programs, they are for you and your family. So we had to gain the trust of one player, one family member at a time. Every family, every active or former player that we touched, they told somebody else. We just became the customer service center that we're supposed to be. When that phone rings, we pick it up It started with, 'Let's go get some former players to come in and start telling that story. The numbers have exploded. When I came in we were dealing with probably 200, 300 players in our whole entire universe, like on a monthly basis. Now, 20,000. Former players and all active players. So we are totally different from program usage, service usage. We're not even on the same planet from staff to engagement from where it was."
Q: Obviously, of all the off the field issues with players and their families to deal, a low point was the murder suicide case involving Kasandra Perkins and Jovan Belcher. What's the lasting impact of that sad case on you and others who deal with the support programs?
TV: "It stays with me on a daily basis. A family lost a daughter. A family lost a son. It hit home with all of us. It makes you look at the entire program, to become even more committed to make sure people are treated. He reached a point and lost it. I wish we could have done more to identify it. What else could we have done?"
Q: Has the cultural landscape changed in the NFL, like society overall, with regard to treatment for mental health issues?
TV: "We're becoming much more receptive. We're seeing the player population reaching out. People want assistance. In many cases, people don't know how to get it. All the experts have told us, the dialogue around it helps create change."
Q: How does the NFL environment for such matters compare to what it was like when you entered the league?
TV: "Night and day. It used to be, 'Don't talk about being depressed or mental anxiety.' We never even used the term 'mental health' between 1992 and 2006. Bipolar (disorder)? Depression? Today, we talk about it every day."
Q: People may not know how passionate you are about addressing domestic violence. Now there's a pending case involving Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. How troubling is this?
TV: officialbuccaneersnflauthentic.com/authentic-mike-evans-jersey.html "We should be held to a higher standard. There's certain behavior that is unacceptable. We've got to have deterrents, education, treatment. We have to be diligent, and if that means removing people from the playing field, then it is something that we must strongly consider."
Q: You've been a driving force for the Respect in Workplace initiatives that were discussed at the NFL owners meetings last week. As part of this, the league made a strong statement at the meetings about sportsmanship, which includes crackdown on abusive and improper language. What's up with that?
TV: "Sportsmanship is what it's all about. The great champions had a special way of competing, as well showing respect. I used a basketball analogy when I was talking (to owners), that we have that vision of Magic (Johnson) and (Larry) Bird competing. And when Tom (Brady) and Peyton (Manning) go at it, they're competing, but there's a level of respect. That's part of preserving our game. We can't lose that."