NFL won’t budge on gambling amid Raiders’ Vegas move
Team owners passed eight new playing rules, three new bylaws, and one new resolution, but at NHL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s press conference, something else commanded the room.
It was how the league – now with the Raiders’ relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas approved – will navigate a complex fight against gambling.
“I would probably tell you that I think society has probably had a little bit of a change with respect to gambling in general,” Goodell said at the conclusion of the NFL annual meeting Tuesday at the Arizona Biltmore. “I think we still strongly oppose it in that room, and otherwise, legalized sports gambling. The integrity of our game is No. 1. We will not compromise on that.
“But I also believe that Las Vegas is not the same city it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago. It’s a much more diverse city. It has become an entertainment mecca. It’s the fastest-growing city in the country. So I think when you look at it today versus what it was a decade or two ago, I think it’s a much different city. And they made a very compelling proposal, which the owners obviously approved overwhelmingly.”
This is still, however, a place nicknamed Sin City.
Critics of the Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas point to that softened stance.
In June 2016, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had to cancel a fantasy football event – for the second year in a row – because it was being held on the property of a casino, and would therefore violate the NFL player personal conduct policy. That, despite there would be no gambling at the event.
In a November 2012 deposition, according to ESPN, Goodell said “gambling would be No. 1 on my list” when asked what threats there are to the integrity of pro football.
Yet, when faced with a failing stadium in the Oakland Coliseum and the allure of $750 million in public funds to construct a $1.9 billion stadium near The Strip in Las Vegas, NFL owners stamped the move in a 31-1 vote.
“I think we have to make sure that we continue to stay focused on making sure that everyone has full confidence that what you see on the field isn’t influenced by outside factors,” Goodell said. “That’s our No. 1 concern. That goes to me, what I consider the integrity of the game, and we will not relent on that.”
The Raiders, though, intend to play in Oakland for at least two seasons, until the Las Vegas stadium project reaches its projected completion before the 2020 season. So there is still plenty of time for the league to figure out if any measures need to be taken.
Raiders owner Mark Davis said Monday there are plans in place to implement protections so that players avoid the temptations that Las Vegas offers, though he declined to specifically state what those would be.
Goodell said Tuesday that the NFL did not alter any of its gambling policies and that the Raiders did not ask the league to do so. He also added that the NFL “retains the right” to change any policies.
“I think we have an obligation to do that for all 32 teams,” Goodell said. “My experience is that 21-yearolds can find trouble in a lot of different places, so that’s one of the reasons why we focus so much on our personal conduct policies. It’s educating players and helping them make better judgments, giving them better information so they avoid problems… We’re going to have to obviously keep a focus on that, no matter where our franchises are.”
Goodell to return to New England for kickoff
Hey Patriots fans, guess who is coming to town?
Hint: You can scrap the “Where’s Roger?” chant that rang through Gillette Stadium during the playoffs last season.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear where he plans to be when the 2017 season kicks off in September.
“I plan to be at the kickoff game,” Goodell said in response to a question during a news conference Tuesday night that signaled the end of the owners’ meetings.
The kickoff game is the Thursday night season opener hosted by the Super Bowl champions, so this year it will mark Goodell’s first visit to Gillette Stadium since Deflategate began following the 2014 AFC Championship Game.
The Deflategate investigation – and court appearances – resulted in quarterback Tom Brady being suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season, and the Patriots being fined and losing draft picks.
The Patriots, of course, went 3-1 during Brady’s suspension en route to winning Super Bowl XLI in February.
It didn’t go unnoticed – by the media or Patriots fans – that Goodell chose to go to Atlanta for the NFC Championship Game even though he had been there the previous week. The only other option on Championship Sunday would have been New England.
And then two weeks later, after what can only be described as an awkward trophy exchange between Goodell and Robert Kraft, the Patriots owner didn’t hold back.
“Two years ago, we won our fourth Super Bowl down in Arizona and I told our fans that was the sweetest one of all. But a lot has transpired over the last two years,” Kraft said. “And I don’t think that needs any explanation. But I want to say to our fans, to our brilliant coaching staff, our amazing players who were so spectacular: this is unequivocally the sweetest.”
(USA Today/TNS)