With several months under his belt as NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell has become quite a stern and effective taskmaster in dealing with players who consistently run afoul of the law.

The league's public image has been stained with disturbing and repeated off-the-field incidents of assault and weapons charges, domestic violence, and driving under the influence. Within the last year, more than 50 NFL players have been arrested, prompting Goodell to enact a strict conduct policy that will levy harsher suspensions and fines for players who can't keep themselves off police blotters.

Teams that field bad apples could also face the possibility of losing draft picks if behavioral problems are not dealt with in an efficient manner. More important, prior to the draft it was clear that Goodell really means business when he suspended, without pay, Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for the 2007 season and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry for eight games.

Jones is appealing his ban on the grounds that he has not been convicted of a crime and that more than 200 NFL players have been arrested since 2000, and none was given a year's suspension. That's true, but there is another reality check at work here that those of us in the "real world" deal with constantly: new boss in charge.

The players Jones and his attorneys are referring to were under the conduct rules former commissioner Paul Tagliabue approved. Goodell has revised the rules, and the new policy now reads: "It is not enough to simply avoid being found guilty of a crime. Instead, as an employee of the NFL or a member club, you are held to a higher standard."

This higher standard is a criterion that Jones and his miscreant NFL colleagues guilty of repeated run-ins with police simply do not get. They behave more like thugs in a street gang than employees of an elite sports organization. Jones' rap sheet includes five arrests, and police in Las Vegas still are investigating a shooting at a strip club he attended during the NBA All-Star Game. The shooting left a man paralyzed.

I, along with other social commentators on pro sports, am hoping that Goodell will not reduce Jones' suspension. My reasons, however, also extend to the racial undertones of the NFL's discipline problems. Jones is now the poster boy for athletes with criminal tendencies, and punishing him will set a precedent for ridding the league of the thug culture that has primarily tainted black players.

When I taught a course I designed on race and sports for the Comparative Studies Department at Ohio State University last autumn, my students were well aware of the criminal element evident in the NFL, as well as the NBA. They agreed that black athletes who are constantly in trouble with the law reinforce the stigma associated with black males as violent and unruly, characteristics of the thug culture that has absorbed many of them.

One sporting image this year that I will never forget is USA Today's April 10 display of 41 photographs of NFL players who have been arrested since 2006. Thirty-nine of those players were black, and I could only imagine what a casual observer of sports thought while viewing those pictures.

Blacks comprise 66 percent of NFL players, and the majority are law-abiding and outstanding citizens; yet they bear the burden of the bad reproach brought upon them when an errant minority continues to disgrace the league.

If Jones' suspension is upheld, he will have to apply for reinstatement and will lose $1.29 million in salary. He also faces a difficult task in proving that he will play by the rules if the Titans opt to take him back. The prospect of losing his career should be the final wake-up call for Jones.

Goodell's authoritative stance on conduct should prove to Jones and other troubled players that their character is just as important as the talent they display on the field. If they continue to act like thugs, they will soon be looking for work elsewhere.