With Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer arrested but not yet charged with battery against a minor in Florida, the decision of the Bills to put Kromer on paid leave says plenty about the outcome of the preliminary investigation conducted by the team and the league.
The new Personal Conduct Policy states that employees will be placed on paid leave if formal charges are filed, via “an indictment by a grand jury, the filing of charges by a prosecutor, or an arraignment in a criminal court.” Absent formal charges, paid leave can occur if the preliminary investigation results in a conclusion by the Commissioner that a crime of violence occurred.
In reaching this conclusion, the Commissioner isn’t bound by the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. For the NFL, the standard is the Ted Wells more-likely-than-not/preponderance of the evidence. Which means that even if a prosecutor concludes there’s not enough evidence to convict Kromer in a court of law, there’s already enough evidence to convict Kromer in the court of Goodell.
And now Kromer will stay on paid leave until a decision is made on whether to charge him. If he’s charged, he’ll stay there until the case ends. After that, he’ll stay there until the NFL decides on his punishment.
From Kromer’s perspective, the best strategy will be to get the criminal case resolved. Which is one of the biggest complications of the league using paid leave. The employee needs to get the case resolved ASAFP, and the prosecutor knows it.
