As Commissioner of The National Football League, Roger Goodell is no
stranger to controversy. Goodell took over a league in 2006 that needed a
strong figurehead. With every NFL highlight that was appearing on
SportsCenter, there was equally that much time dedicated to stories of
off-the-field conduct by players. Goodell had his work cut out for him
as Adam “Pacman” Jones became the first casualty of Goodell’s reign as
he was suspended for the entire 2007 season. Since that time Goodell has
suspended more players exercising his domain as judge, jury, and
executioner. Goodell has also had to field questions from Congress about
performance-enhancing drugs and he was barely able to avoid a work
stoppage last season after an owner induced lockout. Goodell has seen
lawsuits thrown at his league from every angle by former players who
have claimed to have suffered debilitating injuries while playing in The
NFL. The players also claim that The NFL has not done enough to help
them with mounting medical bills as well. As soon as Goodell’s ship is
able to avoid one iceberg, another one that is more mammoth than the
previous one enters his path. The current one is “Bountygate”.
The New Orleans Saints were the feel good story of football after
winning The Super Bowl in 2009, just several years after Hurricane
Katrina ravaged The Gulf Coast Region. Once the allegations of this
scandal surfaced in which former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg
Williams allegedly established a system in which Saints defensive
players were rewarded for injuring opposing players, things changed for
The Saints and Goodell. Williams along with Saints head coach Sean
Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis, and assistant coach Joe Vitt all
felt the wrath of Goodell with Williams being suspended indefinitely and
Payton being required to sit out the entire 2012 season. Loomis and
Vitt each suffered partial suspensions for the 2012 season.
Four current NFL players have been suspended by Goodell as well.
Green Bay Packers defensive end Anthony Hargrove, Cleveland Browns
linebacker Scott Fujita, along with Saints linebacker Johnathan Vilma
and defensive end Will Smith have been suspended by The NFL for their
alleged roles in this scandal.
Of all of the players involved Vilma has fought Goodell and The NFL
head on as he is the only player to be suspended for the entire 2012
season. The league claims to have evidence that shows the players
involvement in the system, but the league has failed to prove this to
the players or The Players Association. The NFLPA finally received some
evidence from the league last Friday, but is it enough to warrant
suspensions? Vilma is also suing Goodell for defamation of character as
what he sites as an “injustice”.
We all knew that Goodell would indeed lower the hammer once this story
broke as he always does. Goodell is charged with protecting The NFL’s
multi-billion dollar shield at all cost. The owners have entrusted him
with protecting there money and in The Collective Bargaining Agreement,
The NFLPA was on-board with Goodell having the final say, but he has
never had his authority challenged like it is currently. With the
subject of player safety at an all-time high with fans and players
especially after last month’s suicide by former NFL linebacker Junior
Seau, Goodell had to flex his commissioner muscle and Vilma is one of
the several victims. If The NFL cannot undeniably prove Vilma’s role in
this then it will open up a new avenue for NFL players to undermine
Goodell’s authority. NFL players consistently have a beef with the fact
that Goodell is the one to hand down penalties and he is also the man
that listens to the appeals.
The NFL now requires all 32 teams to dedicate a portion of the
yearly salary cap to retirees of the league. This has allowed the league
to get the retiree fire under control but they haven’t been able to put
it out as former players continue to come out publicly and chastise The
NFL. Goodell appeared to be a smooth transition from former
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue who was able to maintain labor peace after a
few rocky decades for The NFL under Pete Rozzelle. Rozzelle’s last
decade of the 1980s was tough on him as he dealt with drug use by
players, two work stoppages and former Raiders owner Al Davis famously
challenging his authority to move The Raiders from Oakland to Los
Angeles. This took a mental and physical toll on Rozelle and the same
could be in the cards for Goodell. Nobody said the job of NFL
Commissioner would be easy and Goodell is finding out the hard way.
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