The NFL has always been at the forefront of social progress. They have worked toward the future and changed with the times in a positive manner. However, this September seems like the NFL has taken a step back due to the multiple scandals that has tarnished their reputation. This is the first time that the NFL has seemed out of place. The league has been so well-run under commissioner Roger Goodell, but now some major flaws in the system are being revealed. The all-knowing and powerful Goodell is now looking like a confused school boy who just learned about his manhood.
With nowhere left to turn, it seemed like the NFL’s commissioner was going to step up and take responsibility for his mistakes when he called for a press conference on Sept. 19. It turned out that this wasn’t the case. In fact, he did everything he could to not put the blame on himself, but it seemed like that is all he could do during the press conference with answers like, “I disappointed myself. I disappointed the NFL. I disappointed our fans,” and “I got it wrong on a number of levels.”
Goodell never bothered to explain why he was wrong. There was still the situation of Ray Rice’s video tape that the league apparently never received, along with the cases of Adrian Peterson, Ray McDonald and Greg Hardy that have not yet been resolved. The one thing that came out of this 45 minute charade was the plan of the league working on a new personal conduct policy.
As if one press conference was not enough, just days later, a press conference was called by Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti. This was just another man in power trying to get out of the hot seat by throwing someone else under the bus. During his time on stage, Bisciotti took a lot of heat for the organization’s handling of Rice. Bisciotti did a good job of answering the questions about his handling of Rice, but he also did his fair share of deflecting. The Ravens’ owner blamed the NFL for their lack of aggressiveness in their investigation of the Rice situation and questioned their attempts in obtaining the video that caused Rice to be indefinitely suspended.
Not much was accomplished in either of these press conferences and not many important questions were answered. All this showed was how well these men can speak to a crowd and how shrewd the high powers of the NFL can really be. Before now, Goodell and the league executives always seemed to be on the ball but this lack of judgment and repeated mistakes are leaving a stain on “the shield.”
There is the big question that is still to be determined: where does the NFL go from here? Expect for changes to come. It is a given that there will be a new personal conduct policy on the horizon, but what will come from that? Look for Goodell to lose some of his power as a result of his former gaffes. Also, look for the league to become more transparent with their policies, and especially, their investigative findings. The NFL has always preached transparency with teams, and it is time for the them to do the same.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees spoke to the media about his thoughts on what a new system should look like: “Too many times, I’d say especially over the last few years, a punishment’s been handed down and nobody has really seen the evidence except for those in the league office — supposedly,” Brees said. “So decisions were made in kind of a, ‘Hey, trust us’ way. But did the public see any of the facts? Did the accused see any of the facts? In most cases, no.”
Brees was also joined by teammate Zach Strief, who serves as the Saints’ union representative, in the discussion about Goodell and the league. “There needs to be a system of checks and balances in place and I think there needs to be transparency in how that all goes down. I’m tired of this veil of secrecy behind it. You get stuck in a situation where nobody has a clue what’s going on, you deal with assumptions, and it’s a circus,” Strief said.
Goodell is not perfect and neither is the league, but it will be easier for the public and the players to forgive them if there is transparency. The NFL needs to change from its “unilateral” system if they want to improve in the future. September has been the toughest in recent memory and will not be the last struggle the league will go through, but this will result in a better league.
Dominick Falco can be reched at dominick.falco@spartans.ut.edu