It's time for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to take all of that money that the owners have handed him and walk away. Actually, it's been that time for a while. The last year has been a disaster and he's the reason for it.
The NFL Commissioner has the power to do pretty anything that he wants.
From the Constitution and Bylaws of the National Football League:
8.3 The Commissioner shall have the full, complete, and final jurisdiction and authority to arbitrate:
(A) Any dispute involving two or more members of the League or involving two or more holders of an ownership interest in a member club of the League, certified to him by any of the disputants;
(B) Any dispute between any player, coach, and/or other employee of any member of the league (or any combination thereof) and any member club or clubs;
(C) Any dispute between or among players, coaches, and/or other employees of any member club or clubs of the League, other than disputes unrelated to and outside the course and scope of the employment of such disputants within the League;
(D) Any dispute between a player and any official of the League;
(E) Any dispute involving any member or members in the League or any players or employees of the members of the League or any combination thereof that in the opinion of the Commissioner constitutes conduct detrimental to the best interests of the League or professional football.
The Commissioner's powers to punish are just as broad. Roger Goodell wasn't the first Commissioner to wield these powers. It only feels like he is. Bert Bell suspended New York Giants players Frank Filchock and Merle Hapes indefinitely (for life) for their failure to disclose an attempt to fix the 1946 NFL Championship game. Pete Rozelle suspended Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras and Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung for the entire 1963 season for making modest-to-small bets on NFL games. One difference between those instances and Goodell's recent displays of power is the immense attention paid to the NFL. The microscope on the league today is highly magnified. Those that even paid attention to the disciplinary actions of Bell and Rozelle might have been surprised by the actions of the Commissioner but they didn't question it. No one really questioned either Commissioner's power to do what they did. The players reluctantly accepted their punishments and went about their business. For Hapes and Filchock, that didn't include a return to the NFL. For Karras and Hornung, it did. Besides the attention paid to it, the biggest difference between those disciplinary instances and the issues of today was the lack of a players union. Hapes, Filchock, Karras, and Hornung didn't feel like they had the option to fight the punishments. They certainly didn't have anyone on their side to help or advise them to fight. They were on their own.
So, Roger Goodell has the power to do all that he's done. That isn't the problem that I have with him. The problem that I have with Goodell is this.
Again, from the Constitution and Bylaws of the National Football League:
8.1 The League shall select and employ a person of unquestioned integrity to serve as Commissioner of the League...
The Commissioner must be of unquestioned integrity because the integrity of the League can't be questioned. In the past year Goodell has done very little that hasn't damaged the integrity of the League. It started when he made a mess of the Ray Rice situation. First of all, it shouldn't have taken seeing that horrible video to make a proper decision. Everyone knew what took place in that elevator. The initial 2-game suspension was light considering Rice's crime but it was in line with those previously handed down for off-the-field offenses. It was still more severe than the ridiculous punishment handed down by the legal system. Why did the general public get in such fit over the NFL's punishment and not our own legal system's punishment? When did the NFL become the final dispenser of social justice? And why did it take that video tape for the public to finally be outraged? Goodell's knee-jerk reaction to the public outrage over the Rice video was a disaster. He should have stuck with the initial punishment since it was the prescribed punishment at that time and redo the player/employee personal conduct policy moving forward. At least he did the latter but he even made a mess of that. He takes three months to come up with a new policy. When he finally does release it to the public he acts as if it's always been in place. He starts policing the League retroactively. He decides the fates of Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy under the new policy even though their offenses took place months prior. He made things up as he skipped along and made a mockery of the NFL. And the Commissioner's office. An office that's supposed to start and end with integrity was showing none. Little did any of us know in November that it was only going to get worse with the New England Patriots ball inflation nonsense. Are you kidding me? This is a rule that no one, especially the League, cared about for over 80 years. The 12.5-13.5 air pressure range for the footballs was a manufacturers recommendation from the early 1930s. A manufacturer that no longer makes the footballs. Not only did no one care about the rule there's as much proof that the Indianapolis Colts violated the rule as there is for the Patriots. Even is there was proof it's a minor rules violation that calls for a $25,000 fine. Instead of doing that, Goodell takes a first- and fourth-round draft pick from the Patriots, fines the team $1,000,000, and suspends their quarterback for four games. Are you kidding me? For some reason, Goodell raises a $25,000 fine to perhaps the most severe punishment in league history. All for violating a rule that is considered minor at best. And there's no concrete proof that this minor rule was even violated. The Wells Investigation was a multi-million dollar joke. It simply makes no sense. If that alone wasn't enough, it appears that the NFL also leaked false information throughout the process to further incriminate the Patriots and fuel the witch hunt. From the Ray Rice mess to the ball inflation nonsense, Goodell has tossed everything resembling integrity right out the window. The League offices, and the Commissioner in particular, have been a train wreck for over a year. It has to end.
After reading his book a few months ago and listening to his Hall of Fame induction speech, I can't help but think that Bill Polian would make an excellent NFL Commissioner. His accomplishments as a team general manager are impeccable. They got him to the Hall of Fame. He's familiar with the inner mechanisms of the league. He served on the NFL Competition Committee for 19 years. He's worked in the NFL offices. He's been involved at all levels of an NFL franchise. He's well respected. He has always had the best interests of the league in mind. And I think that he sees the big picture. He recognizes the strengths in others and surrounds himself with good people. I think that he would be firm, but fair, in all disciplinary decisions. Most importantly, I think that he has the integrity that the NFL greatly needs right now.
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