NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith has a job: to be the voice of one of the strongest unions in sports. Lately, in the midst of rampant domestic abuse and even child abuse charges stemming among a slew in NFL players, his job has become increasingly difficult of late. He’s had to balance employment obligations with the wrongdoings his clients have committed on what’s becoming a frequent basis — quite the ethical enigma for football’s most powerful figurehead.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced it would be suspending the sport’s most prolific runner, Adrian Peterson, for the remainder of the season and possibly into the next. Peterson, who was charged with injuring a child (his own) with a switch, had spent the last two months on the newly formed Commissioner’s Exempt List, being paid to not play.

The suspension is one of a collection of seemingly random moves by Commissioner Rodger Goodell — each one without a precedent. In an interview with ESPN’s Mike & Mike Tuesday morning, Smith rattled off words like “arbitrary,” “inconsistent” and “uneven” when describing Goodell’s disciplinary tactics. Not once did he ever mention the victim.

And again, Smith’s job is to make sure each playing is treated fairly, while also making sure the NFL upholds its end of the collective bargaining agreement. But later, he said Goodell’s inconsistency is “not in the best interest of the game, not in the best interest of the players and I know not in the best interest of our sponsors.”

Wrong.

The strict and random rulings are not in the best interest of the abusive players, specifically. The rulings give the abusers nothing to fall back on and very little room for the customary “he said, she said” escape routes. They’re harsh, unsystematic and just what a reeling league needs to fix its reputation. They’re rulings other players, the ones who have stayed true to their fan bases, don’t seem to have a problem with, but are muffled by a players association fighting for consistency.

And you have to consider the individual circumstance with Peterson. We’re not talking about a family man who comes home after work to see his seven children. No, we’re talking about a guy who has seven kids with four different women. We’re talking about a guy who has shown no remorse for the series of scars he left his son. And we’re talking about a player with shared custody, who (knowing the NFL schedule) probably doesn’t have more than a couple of days a month to spend time with each his kids. Not to mention the current threat he presents to his other six kids.

In this instance, judicial process has become and will continue to be the focal point of discussion, when it should be the victims.

I always try to link back to the examples these athletes set for kids. And while it may seem generalized, athletes are not role models. From Lance Armstrong and Alex Rodriguez to Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice, there are better men out there, men (and women) who lay it all on the line every day. Family men, those who despite working ridiculous hours, find the time for their kids. My father is one of those men and there are many more like him here in Washington and the surrounding area.

Athletes aren’t role models.

The NFL can rewrite policy, reform programs and cater to what the public deems morally acceptable, but when it comes down to it, it’s a dynamic league with people constantly switching teams and coming up through the college system, one that has also taken its share of criticism of late (ex. Florida State).

Goodell will continue to take fire from those unhappy with the system. There will come a point when people demand his resignation (if it hasn’t already come to that). But he’ll be able to sleep at night, no doubt. It’s the abusers, those who have let their fans down and set horrible examples for our youth, who will find themselves up creek without a paddle.