The NFL always wins.
Forty-four years ago today, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath was "forced" to announce that he was selling his interests in the New York City nightclub Bachelors III. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle was at Namath's side but he was probably there more to gloat than to support. The NFL has always walked a fine line when it comes to the distance that they keep from the supposed unsavory types. New York Giants owner Tim Mara was a bookie. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rozelle was around the racetracks. Gambling rumors always seemed to swirl around Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom. Gambling had to be kept out of the league but it was always around the league. It always seemed to be okay for league owners to be around the unsavory types but the players have always been a different story. In 1963, Rozelle suspended Green Bay Packers back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for fairly minor gambling infractions. In 1969, Joe Namath was his target.
The AFL-NFL wars were over. The two leagues hadn't fully merged in 1969 but they'd played three Super Bowls. The AFL had finally won one of them and Joe Namath was a giant. He also owned interests in a booming nightclub. 798 Lexington Avenue was the place to be in New York City. Bachelors III. NFL security had been observing the nightclub for months and found that it was being visited by unsavory Mafia types. Known mobsters and gamblers were frequenting a nightclub partly owned by the NFL's biggest star. Rozelle told Namath that he would be suspended if he did not sell his interests in Bachelors III. NFL contracts include an agreement that players must never "enter drinking or gathering establishments" or "associate with notorious persons." Rozelle expected Namath to comply. Rozelle didn't know Namath. On June 6, 1969, at Bachelors III, Joe Namath tearfully announced that instead of selling, he would retire. He had done nothing wrong. It was strictly a matter of principle. "I'm not selling, I quit!" This wasn't exactly what Pete Rozelle was expecting. No one says "no" to the NFL. Neither met nor spoke for the next three weeks. As June became July and the 1969 NFL season started to show on the horizon, Rozelle started to realize that the game needed Joe Namath. The star quarterback likely started to realize that he needed the game. They started talking and meeting in the middle of July. On July 18, 1969, Joe Namath and Pete Rozelle announced that the NFL had won again.
At that July 18 press conference, Namath again stated that he'd done nothing wrong. That didn't matter to Rozelle or the NFL. The agreement was reached on virtually all of the commissioner's demands. Not only would Namath sell his interests in Bachelors III, Rozelle also had the right to turn down potential buyers as well as possible investors in any establishments Namath was to possibly own in other cities. Incredible.
I absolutely understand the NFL's need to keep players and gamblers apart. The most important aspect of any professional sport is the public's belief that everything is on the level. The integrity of the game is vital to the existence of the game. I just wonder how much is for show. I just don't see how a player can control who comes into an establishment that he might own. The league can't realistically control that much of a player's life outside of the game. The associations of some of the players in recent years certainly proves that. I've always questioned the actions that Rozelle took against Namath in 1969. Perhaps it was a personal vendetta carried over from the wars between the NFL and AFL. Who knows? It just seemed a bit excessive. Still, if Namath's interests in Bachelors III raised any suspicions in the public's eye, Rozelle obviously felt that he had to act. And, he certainly wasn't going to lose.
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