|
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodel Must Go
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
September 12, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Sinking in the quicksand of former 27-year-old
Baltimore Ravens running back domestic abuse scandal, 55-year-old NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell showed that he lacks the savvy to stay on the job. When he gave Rice a two-game
suspension and $58K fine July 24 for a Feb. domestic abuse incident in an
Atlantic City hotel elevator, women’s groups screamed foul, decrying the light
punishment. Goodell knew that Rice
KO’d his girlfriend in the elevator, caught on initial videotape dragging her
out of the elevator. When a new
videotape surfaced Sept. 8 showing Rice spitting in his then fiancée Janay
Palmer’s face before knocking her out, Goodell suspended Rice indefinitely and
allowed the Ravens to terminate his $35 million contract. Goodell claims he didn’t see the new
video until Sept. 8, despite the AP insisting it was delivered-and-signed for by
law enforcement to the NFL office in April.
Goodell insists he didn’t see the new video until Sept. 8. If the knew then what he saw Sept. 8, he would have suspended Rice indefinitely, not
slapped Rice on the wrist July 24.
Whether or not Goodell saw the new video, he knew that Rice KO’d his girlfriend,
the same offense that’s confirmed on the Sept. 8 video. Back in March, Rice met with Goodell
to inform him of what he had done to his fiancée. “Ray didn’t lie to the
commissioner,” said ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr.
“He told the full truth to Goodell—he made it clear he had hit her, and
he told Goodell he was sorry and that it wouldn’t happen again,” said Van Natta
Jr. Goodell’s denial that he saw
the new video before he suspended Rice for two-games July, doesn’t answer the
question of why he didn’t see the video.
Goodell’s only defense is like 52-year-old New Jersey and possible 2016
GOP presidential candidate Gov. Chris Christie that “he knew nothing.”
Whether or not Goodell miscalculated the fallout from the Rice incident,
his feeble explanations don’t add up.
If he knew Rice punched Palmer before he ruled July 24, there’s been no
change-of-facts other that more people watching the new, more complete video
showing Rice spit and KO’d Palmer.
Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome confirmed that Rice was upfront from the
get-go. “Ray had given a story to John [coach Harbaugh] and I.
And what we saw on the video was what Ray said. Ray didn’t lie to me. He didn’t lie to me,” said Newsome,
confirming that Goodell got the same story as the Ravens front-office. Goodell’s excuse that had he
known-then-what-he-knows-now, things would have been different, doesn’t fly. Yet Goodell knew—whether he saw the
new video or not—that Ray punched and KO’d Palmer. Nothing new—just a bad
miscalculation by Goodell.
Goodell makes a big deal over the fact he didn’t see the new video on
which to make a more appropriate decision on Rice. Yet all testimony suggests that
Goodell knew exactly the same facts before he decided to suspend Rice two-games
and fine him $58K. Even if Goodell insists he didn’t see the new video given by law enforcement to the NFL’s
Manhattan office, no material facts have changed. “There was no ambiguity about what
happened [in the elevators], confirmed by a fourth source to Van Natta Jr., that
Goodell had all the info needed to pass judgment July 24. At the time Goodell interviewed Palmer, she reportedly told him that she spit and punched
Ray before he lost control. Whether that’s true or not, provocation doesn’t not excuse domestic violence. Once Goodell saw the viral video of
Rice popping Danay he realized he had made a mistake.
Selling the idea that the “dog ate my homework” to NFL owners, Goodell
has bought himself more time to salvage his job.
But his credibility has already been vanquished before he appointed
former FBI Director Robert Mueller to conduct and independent investigation. Mueller will interview NFL employees
to find the chain of command of the video that go lost in the shuffle. Some folks believe Goodell is lying
about not seeing the video. Using the new video as a smokescreen, the real
question is not about whether or not or when Goodell saw the new video. It’s more about him having all the
information—with or without the video—on which to make his July 24 decision to
fine and suspend Rice. Changing his
tune Sept. 8, suspending Rice indefinitely and allowing the Ravens to terminate
his contract, looks like Goodell’s trying to get the punishment right after
seeing the video.
NFL owners must face the music that Goodell no has the credibility to
lead the league without damage to the brand.
When he botched the punishment July 24 for Rice’s domestic abuse case, he
showed that he’s not up to the many disciplinary issues involved in managing the
NFL. Whatever Goodell’s pedigree or
experience in the league, he lacks the common sense needed to run a complex
sports league. Whether or not he
stays with the NFL in another capacity, is up to league owners. Judging by the media firestorm and damage to the NFL brand, it’s better for the league to
start with a clean slate. Whatever Mueller eventually finds, Goodell damaged the NFL enough to justify termination. He had all the relevant facts when
he errantly decided July 24 to fine and suspend Rice for two games. His deer-in-the-headlights look
since the scandal broke Sept. 8 only damages the NFL.
|
