Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch criticized NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday for Goodell's suspension of Oakland Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
Batch, a member of the NFLPA's executive committee, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Goodell set a bad precedent when he suspended the former Ohio State Buckeye for the first five games of this season before allowing him to be eligible for last week's supplemental draft.
"He took it to another level when he said he was going to suspend Terrelle Pryor for five games and he wasn't even in the NFL last year," said Batch, who has been mentoring Pryor for years. "How can you do that? It's not right. It's not right at all."
Pryor initially was slated for a five-game suspension at Ohio State for receiving improper benefits before he decided to leave the school.
The Raiders took Pryor in the third round of the supplemental draft and signed him to a four-year, $2.7 million contract. After some conflicting statements from Pryor and his agent, the quarterback eventually said that he would not appeal the five-game suspension.
"I told Terrelle what he should do. I am not going to tell you what I told him, but I told him what he should do," Batch said. "Whatever the Raiders want him to do, that is what they will do."
The Steelers were the only one of 32 NFL teams that voted against the collective bargaining agreement in August, in large part because of the control Goodell had over discipline issues.
