Will NFL treat Stallworth’s DUI manslaughter more harshly than a Florida court?

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National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth indefinitely on Thursday, two days after the player pleaded guilty in Miami-Dade County court to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Miami on March 14.

“The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable,” Goodell wrote. “While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL.”

Stallworth is likely to receive a longer penalty from the NFL than he was given by a Florida court. Stallworth received a 30-day sentence — he will serve only 24 days — along with two years of house arrest and eight years of probation. The shockingly short sentence came after Stallworth reached a financial settlement with the family of Mario Reyes, the man who was killed.

If Stallworth was able to buy justice from the Florida court, that isn’t likely to work in the NFL. The league doesn’t need the money. It does need to protect its image, though. And that’s why this is Goodell’s chance to accomplish what the Florida court failed to do: Send a message that you can’t get away with drinking and driving and killing a man.

The NFL can rectify a mistake it made in 1999 when former commissioner Paul Tagliabue suspended St. Louis Rams defensive lineman Leonard Little eight games in another DUI manslaughter case.

Had Little received a much longer suspension, long enough to leave an indelible impression on players for years to come, do you think Stallworth might have thought twice about getting behind the wheel on March 14 after a night of drinking?

via The Associated Press: NFL suspends Browns WR Stallworth indefinitely