CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer has been suspended four games and the team has been fined $250,000 for him sending improper text messages to the coaching staff during games in the 2014 regular season, a violation of the NFL's game day technology restrictions.
The penalties, which did not include a loss of draft picks, were announced Monday after months of investigations and deliberations by the NFL.
"I respect the league's decision and understand there are consequences for my actions," Farmer said in a statement released by the team. Accountability is integral to what we are trying to build, and as a leader, I need to set the right example.
"I made a mistake and apologize to Jimmy Haslam, (Mike) Pettine, our entire organization and our fans for the ramifications. Learning is a big part of who I am, and I will certainly be better from this situation."
Owner Jimmy Haslam added, "We accept the league's ruling. Ray made a mistake and takes full responsibility for his role in violating the policy. It is critical that we make better decisions. Ray has tremendous integrity, and I know has great remorse for what occurred. We are all committed to learning from this and making the Browns a stronger and better organization."
Despite the suspension, Farmer will be able to run the Browns' draft and continue to add and evaluate players in the offseason. He will be banished from the team for the first four weeks of the regular season, starting at midnight the Sunday prior to the Browns' season-opening game.
"There was no evidence in the NFL's review that Browns ownership or any other team executives had knowledge of the prohibited conduct," said Troy Vincent, the NFL's vice president of football operations. "Once the violation was discovered, Browns management implemented new processes to ensure future compliance. We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation the Browns organization extended during our inquiry."
Since word of the text-message scandal broke, Farmer has taken full responsibility for violating the league's rules, and that included addressing the matter at his annual press conference at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month.
"It was me," Farmer said at the time. "To that degree, I have apologized to the people in the building, Coach Pettine, Jimmy Haslam, the rest of the football staff and everybody that was involved from our side. They understand what happened.
"There is a platform to have those conversations and to have things talked about and discussed. I misplayed that platform. It's something I've learned from. It's something I'll be better at, and I've corrected that mistake."
Despite coach Mike Pettine admitting publicly at the Scouting Combine that he "wasn't thrilled about" the text messages being sent to the coaching staff during games, Farmer, who described himself as being humbled by the process since the investigation was made public, said the Browns, as a whole, are a "healthy" organization
"I would describe our organization as a healthy one," Farmer said. "I would describe it as healthy because we do have platforms where you can discuss those things openly and honestly, and we can have direct conversations. In large part, those conversations are met with candidness. Guys are able to speak their minds."
Pettine added, "Ray and I have had very clear and open conversations about it. He apologized not just to myself, but other members of the organization. In-game is very emotional, so I'm not going to go into my initial reaction, but at the same time, I'm very comfortable with my relationship with Ray. That hasn't changed.
"A lot of it is deeply rooted in his competitiveness. Here's a guy that wants to win, and if you poll all the GMS, those three, four hours on Sunday might be the toughest of the week. It's an unfortunate thing."
