Goodell must mend fences as he starts second decade
Whatever happened to the old Roger Goodell?
Sure, people change. Circumstances evolve.
Yet with Thursday marking the 10th anniversary of Goodell’s first day on the job as NFL commissioner — and what a long, eventful decade it was — it’s worth reflecting on the optics of the man’s persona.
As Goodell broke into the role in 2006, he enjoyed a boost of momentum because he was so different from laid-back predecessor Paul Tagliabue. Goodell represented a refreshing, upbeat contrast, scoring points with an engaging personality. Furthermore, he wasn’t shy about getting to NFL camps and visiting with players — and local media — which presented the potential of an accessible, hands-on type capable of gauging the pulse of the league’s matters himself.
But you never see Goodell on the sideline of anybody’s camp practices anymore.
He is now widely viewed as the unpopular punching bag whose approval rating among fans — it’s undoubtedly lower among players — has steadily deflated.
Much of this is Goodell’s own doing, given his handling of off-
field drama. And the rest might be the result of the nuts-and-bolts requirements of protecting NFL owners, who are in the business of selling mayhem while straddling fine lines of safety, long-term health risks to their employees and legal liability.
Tagliabue, now a Hall of Fame finalist, didn’t do his successor any favors by leaving him with fundamental issues that contributed to the concussion crisis. Yet for all of the strides the league has made on the concussion front, with pressure from the NFL Players Association and the class-action suit from former players, it’s probably not what best defines Goodell’s first decade on the job.
Clearly, owners can thank him for growing the business, with NFL revenues now in excess of $13 billion per year and seemingly on track to hit the $25 billion goal in the next decade. That growth is a reason Goodell, with bonuses, has collected a salary exceeding $40 million in recent years.
Still, I wonder whether it really bothers him that he is dogged by negativity.
In recent years, he’s sometimes come off as snarky and arrogant in public. That wasn’t Goodell’s style when he started. Nor was his response to the jeers he received from fans at the draft in Chicago, where he implored them to “bring it on.”
It somehow seemed fitting that Goodell hit the 10-year mark with the news that the NFL has cleared James Harrison, Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews of any wrongdoing stemming from allegations made during an Al Jazeera America documentary that linked them to performance-enhancing drugs. It was good for all parties involved that the case was settled before the start of the regular season.
But the fact that the players were absolved only after being bullied by the league into talking — none had failed a single test as outlined in the collectively bargained steroids policy — represented another loss in the strained relations between the league and union.
Unfortunately, that chasm has come to define the Goodell era as much as anything.
Now Goodell must approach the issue of improving player re- lations with the same focus and energy he used in addressing the NFL’s domestic violence problem.
His image certainly won’t improve until it’s fixed, because the players — be it expressions from deep thinkers such as Richard Sherman and Drew Brees or the ramblings of Josh Norman — have the voices that are heard.
In this case, it’s a tough fix, especially as the NFLPA strives to strip Goodell of power. With union chief DeMaurice Smith scrapping on the other side, that’s probably one reason Goodell hasn’t been as visible as he used to be — and should be — around teams since the 2011 lockout.
The recent history of the Tom Brady and Adrian Peterson lawsuits — and questionable flaws from the Bountygate investigation, too — fed into the mistrust and surely set the tone for the drawn-out PED investigation. The union didn’t want to set the precedent of subjecting players to interviews based on allegations that are not supported by credible evidence, such as a drug test. Fair enough.
In the end, though, the NFL used power afforded Goodell in the CBA to discipline based on “conduct detrimental to the game” while forcing the players to talk.
Goodell has the hammer. But throughout history, the best commissioners are the ones who commanded respect from all constituents — owners, players, fans and even business partners — by knowing exactly how to use that power.
That was the potential possessed by the old Goodell.
It’s essential for the current Goodell to grow on the job.
Goodell has the hammer. But throughout history, the best commissioners are the ones who commanded respect from all constituents by knowing exactly how to use that power.