On one hand, it’s admirable that Browns linebacker Mychal Kendricks fully admitted to engaging in insider trading. On the other hand, he may have had no choice but to accept guilt in lieu of retaining a hired gun to fire shotgun blasts at the clay pigeon of reasonable doubt.
Kendricks did it. He knows he did it. And he’s surely hoping that his willingness to admit he did it will result in a lesser penalty under the law.
There indeed will be a penalty. And it quite possibly will entail jail time, especially since his higher profile will make it easier for the criminal justice system to fulfill its goal of deterring wrongdoing. That would necessarily interrupt his playing career, and it would quite possibly prompt teams to shy away from giving him employment after he’s released, in part because he’s arguably not talented enough at this point to merit a so-called “second chance.” (If he were Lawrence Taylor in his prime, that would be a different story entirely.)
The league will surely have something to say on this one as well, beyond the perfunctory “we’re looking into it” statement. Here, there’s nothing to look into. He’s guilty, he did it. Whether it falls within the confines of "[c]rimes of dishonesty such as blackmail, extortion, fraud, money laundering, or racketeering” under the Personal Conduct Policy or the "[c]onduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL personnel” catch all, Kendricks will be facing workplace discipline as well.
The end result very well could be that Kendricks’ career will be permanently derailed. The only good news for him is that it took a full four years for the fecal matter to fly into the fan.
