On Tuesday, President Trump shocked many when he issued a pardon for former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. after the NFL owner was convicted in a gambling scheme.
Many have noted the unusual nature of the pardon: DeBartolo was convicted because he knew of a crime, but didn’t say anything. Some speculate this could represent Trump priming the public for future pardons in this vein.
Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was convicted after pleading guilty in 1998 to charges of failing to report a felony. The case was tied up in a larger case relating to bribery, and the results were messy: in the end, the governor of Louisiana, Edwin W. Edwards, went to prison.
While DeBartolo managed to avoid prison, he ended up agreeing to pay millions in fines.
He also was forced to give ownership of the NFL team to his sister, Denise York. His crimes resulted in a major shift in the organization, and were a major scandal for the NFL in the late 90s.
On Tuesday morning, during a press hearing in front of the White House, former 49ers player Jerry Rice spoke to reporters about the pardon.
“I think of Eddie and what he has accomplished, what he has done on the football field, off the football field, a lot of charity work,” Rice told reporters.
“We talked about just being great. You know, trying to be the greatest of all time. And you know, I take my hat off for Donald Trump and what he did.”
Rice’s statements relating to DeBartolo’s penchant to donate to charity aren’t embellishments, either: the owner did, in fact, donate vast sums to various charitable organizations.
Humans are complex, and no one person is entirely “good” or entirely “evil.” However, the US judicial system isn’t meant to determine someone’s inherent “goodness,” it exists to determine who has committed crimes.
DeBartolo being pardoned, despite pleading guilty to crimes, sends a very unusual message.
Does donating to charity and being a good football coach make it okay to turn a blind eye to bribery and gambling? Should people be pardoned just because they’re “just a great guy?” These troubling questions surround DeBartolo in the wake of his pardon.
