Merriman Facing Suspension?

If he's charged with a crime, rest assured, Shawne Merriman will be getting a call from the league office and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Yahoo! Sports' speculates that if charged, he'll face an immediate four-game suspension:

Merriman is in a war of words with former girlfriend Tila Tequila about just what the heck he was doing when he supposedly choked Tequila and threw her to the ground on Saturday night when she was trying to leave his house. Merriman is saying he "in no way caused any harm" to Tequila, who was checked over by paramedics on the scene. Tequila, of course, says otherwise.

But the word is that if Merriman gets charged at all, the league is ready to suspend him for four games.

So despite the legitimate skepticism that could be levied in his accuser's direction--last night's Twitter binge was the latest in her public displays of possible instability--"the word" that Yahoo!'s getting says that Merriman will be suspended.

We've seen this before, of course: the NFL has the ability to suspend a player for violating its broad "Personal Conduct Policy (pdf)", regardless of whether he's actually convicted in a court of law. If he's charged, that would be enough to merit suspension under the current guidelines.

For now, the speculation is just that: unsourced rumors and hypotheticals. Should the San Diego DA choose to charge Merriman later this week, however, don't be surprised to see the league act quickly, here. The criminal justice system takes time and can get bogged down in he-said-she-said disputes and tedious legal machinations; Roger Goodell is far more efficient in administering justice.