The NFL has taken a strict stance against off the field issues for players entering the league. A year ago the NFL implemented a policy that players would be banned from competing at the Combine who had prior instances that included domestic violence, sexual assault or weapons offenses. Tom Pelissero of USA Today has reported that Joe Mixon of Oklahoma and Ishmael Zamora of Baylor have been ruled ineligible to compete at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine.
Mixon for those who don’t know was involved in a domestic violence scandal where he punched a woman in the face and broke her jaw and cheek bone. The Oklahoma running back would likely have been taken in the first or second round of the draft but obviously has serious red flags surrounding him. Of course, some of the blame should be placed on Bob Stoops for not kicking him off of the team once he found out about the incident but that’s a story for another day. Mixon did not receive any jail time for the incident which is kind of sick to think about.
Zamora was caught on film beating a dog with a belt. After serving a 3 game suspension for the animal abuse, Zamora caught 63 passes for 809 yards and eight touchdowns in 2016.
As of now the NFL hasn’t come out and made any other collegiate players ineligible for the combine. In my opinion, I am a big proponent of this rule. It allows teams to do proper research on the players with red flags at their pro days and narrows the focus on the players who don’t have checkered pasts at the combine.
