That’s really what the difference between a misdemeanor and felony comes down to in this situation. Fortunately for everyone concerned (the lady, Lynch, the Bills, the NFL, us), the woman wasn’t seriously injured. She just as easily could have bounced her noggin off the pavement and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Lynch (and everyone concerned) caught a lucky break. I don’t think we can count on Goodell cutting Lynch another.

With that said, I’m hoping Lynch’s luck holds and that he draws mainly community service from the state and a brief suspension from the NFL. Hopefully he learns from this. I’m not talking so much about learning not to drink and drive. I’m hoping that he takes a hard look at himself and becomes a better person.

Those guys also had multiple run-ins with the law. This is Lynch’s first such problem (not counting that fishy battery charge or whatever it was that was dropped).

I’m guessing 2-4 games tops, and that might not even be this season depending on when the dust settles.

Remember Anthony Hargrove punched a cop and didn’t get suspended for it. He got nailed for the illegal substances he so thoroughly enjoyed.

I really think many of you are getting a little more upset than you should. If Lynch is guilty of hitting the woman and driving away, then he should get a short suspension and a fine on top of the fine/community service/settlement he’ll be facing from the court system. I really don’t see how this would warrant such a long suspension, if at all. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I heartily disagree with many of the opinions on this topic.

OK, I might agree. But I’m not sure that whether the legal classification matters to Goodell or not. This is a case where a women got mowed down and was, quite frankly, left for dead. Yeah, I know, she only had some bruises and a few stitches, but that is amazing considering the impact was such that a piece of the Porsche was left at the scene.

Yes, its only a misdemeanor; property and persons are treated equally in the State of New York in terms of hit and run incidents depending upon severity of injury. However, I wonder if Goodell would make that same distinction. Does public outrage play a role in his decisions? I really don’t know and I would have a hard time believing it did. But I would also argue that he has never had another player guilty of such a “severe” misdemeanor (hypothetically, for this post, Marshawn is guilty). Although we would need to see the bylaws and NFL-NFLPA agreements to really know for sure, I don’t think Goodell is not bound by State Law in NFL matters and is free to determine suspension length as he sees fit. If he is outraged as some in the public, as Kurupt has pointed out, than I think Marshawn could be lost for half a season.

And, if I may Kurupt, I think there are a couple factors as to why people are as upset as they are: 1) As I asserted above, he hit someone and left them for dead (again, allegedly), 2) misdemeanor or not, that action is viewed by many to show not only a complete lack of character and judgment, but a malignant constitution as well; and 3) he has said nothing, and if he did it, he should be begging everyone for forgiveness.

Mind you, I don’t really ascribe to the above attitude as I stated it, and I certainly think that everyone should have a fair shake and due process. But, for me, the 500lb gorilla in the room is that he was probably drunk (if he did it). No matter how impaired your judgment is, getting behind the wheel after one too many is extremely serious no matter the outcome. That is what upsets me on a personal level (as well has him hitting that poor woman, of course). Ultimately, I don’t know what his final suspension numbers are going to be, but he will have to work hard to get back in the good graces of some.

The assault charge ended up being bogus. And Lynch was in the area of the shooting while attending his sister’s graduation. In fact, the shooter’s “representative” went to Lynch’s mom’s house to apologize and explain that Lynch was in no way the target.

I’m sorry, but if the commish is holding those things against him, then we have a guy with too much power making decisions involving suspensions and whatnot.