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The Cleveland Browns have adopted a four-word mantra in the Ray Farmer-Mike Pettine era: “Play like a Brown.”

Naturally, with the way the team has played in recent years, that mantra drew snickers. But the point is well taken.

To Farmer and Pettine it means to be tough, committed, passionate, professional.

It might be time, though, to add a corollary.

Act like a Brown.

Act like a professional, like what you do matters, like you represent a team and a city in addition to yourself, like there is a community out there rooting for you. Most importantly, act like what you do means more than simple personal celebrity or financial gain.

And for the team, act like what players do matters. Hold them accountable when they don’t live up to standards.

This season there have been two incidents with Browns players driving cars. They did not lead to criminal charges, but things happened nonetheless that are head-scratching at the least and downright troubling at the worst. Criminal or not, they were worthy of league and team attention and disciplinary steps.

Both involved players driving cars so recklessly that 911 calls were placed concerning their driving.

Some called them minor, “kids-will-be-kids" happenings.

Except that they’re not kids; they’re young adults willing to take the money, the fame and the benefits of being an NFL player, but in these cases shirking the everyday responsibility that goes with it. The signing bonus is welcomed, but when things go wrong it suddenly becomes, "They’re kids."