[Writers Note: I understand that Roger Goodell does what he is paid to do and every move he makes is at the behest of the owners, but since he is the “face” of the NFL League Office, he gets the blame and/or the credit.]
As a fan, how would you rate Roger Goodell's nearly 5 year tenure as the Commissioner of the NFL? How about if you owned one of the thirty two teams, or you were one of the nearly 1,900 players? With the lockout nearing an end I think it is a good time to reflect on Goodell's reign as dictator.....I mean commissioner of the NFL.
As a fan, how would you rate Roger Goodell's nearly 5 year tenure as the Commissioner of the NFL? How about if you owned one of the thirty two teams, or you were one of the nearly 1,900 players? With the lockout nearing an end I think it is a good time to reflect on Goodell's reign as dictator.....I mean commissioner of the NFL.
Since Roger Goodell took over the job as NFL Commissioner in September of 2006, he has largely done what he is paid (nearly $10 million per year) to do by the owners; increase profits and international exposure for American football, set new records for television ratings and money, and appear to please an ever growing fan base.
While it is hard to argue with all the growth the NFL has experienced, both under Goodell's tenure and before (and I am sure after), many people would argue to say that the game would have achieved everything it has and more without him running the show. The NFL seems to be an entertainment medium that can only slow itself down as it has no real competition, and a fan base that craves information and coverage 24/7/365. Honestly, I think I could be commissioner of the NFL and break records every year, and I would do it for much less than Goodell makes.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Goodell's term is: Player Conduct Policy. This was a policy that was enacted/strengthened in April 2010 with the purpose of preserving the league's public image by punishing players for negative off-field behavior. It is easy to agree with this, NFL personnel are role models and should be held to high standards, on and off the field, to uphold the integrity of the shield.
The issue with the Personal Conduct Policy is the inconsistency in which it is applied, along with Goodell himself acting as judge, jury, and executioner. For example, former Cowboys assistant coach Wade Wilson was suspended five games and fined $100,000 (probably 35% of his yearly salary) for trying to improve the quality of his life by taking human growth hormones to treat his diabetes. On the other hand, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was only fined $250,000 (about 3% of his yearly salary) and docked a draft pick for compromising the integrity of the NFL by blatantly cheating when he was caught video taping practices and signals.
Goodell's explanation for the extremely harsh punishment on Wilson was that "coaches are held to a higher standard...", but in most people's opinions blatantly breaking the rules is worse than a coach taking a banned substance, agreed? While I am no lawyer or legal analyst, I also look at "intent", Wilson did not INTEND to break the rules, it is obvious that Belichick INTENDED to break the rules and knew that what he was doing was not only against the rules but morally and ethically wrong.
The biggest gripe that fans and players (especially myself) have with Goodell is the lockout, and not just with labor stoppage but the fact that Goodell did not posses the leadership ability to get the two sides together for meaningful negotiations (until recently). Not only is this potentially alienating his fan base and slowing down the record growth, but he has already lost face with the players. Once you lose your employees it can be tough to get them back.
I also do not agree with the new rules on concussions, these are grown men, and if they want to subject themselves to repeated blows to the head for a lot of money, then let them do it. The dangers of post career brain injuries seem to be few and far between, of the tens of thousands of former players, it seems only a slight handful of them suffer debilitating loss of brain functions, and who is to say that some of these "loss of brain functions" would not have happened after just one shot to the head that could happen by doing a lot of non-professional football activities, or even high school and college football which is played by millions. There are a lot of non-football players that suffer the same brain trauma that football players do, and vice-versa
Another piece of his tenure that I do not agree with is the "over protection" of star players (i.e. quarterbacks, receivers, etc). Yes, they are the "stars" and do need to be protected to a point, but the over protection of them has gone a little to far to where the officials err on the side of the offensive player, and these 15-yard penalties are game changing. The rules keeping defensive players from getting in the same zip code as the quarterback at anytime or a receiver either right before he catches, during the catch, or right after the catch is damaging the integrity of the game. Defensive players are now more worried about not losing game checks then playing with instincts. Football is an inherently violent game, everybody that plays or watches realizes this, protect the players but not at the expense of the product on the field.
All in all I feel that Goodell's tenure as commissioner of the NFL has been a complete failure and this should be his one and only term. Let me know what you guys think?
While it is hard to argue with all the growth the NFL has experienced, both under Goodell's tenure and before (and I am sure after), many people would argue to say that the game would have achieved everything it has and more without him running the show. The NFL seems to be an entertainment medium that can only slow itself down as it has no real competition, and a fan base that craves information and coverage 24/7/365. Honestly, I think I could be commissioner of the NFL and break records every year, and I would do it for much less than Goodell makes.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Goodell's term is: Player Conduct Policy. This was a policy that was enacted/strengthened in April 2010 with the purpose of preserving the league's public image by punishing players for negative off-field behavior. It is easy to agree with this, NFL personnel are role models and should be held to high standards, on and off the field, to uphold the integrity of the shield.
The issue with the Personal Conduct Policy is the inconsistency in which it is applied, along with Goodell himself acting as judge, jury, and executioner. For example, former Cowboys assistant coach Wade Wilson was suspended five games and fined $100,000 (probably 35% of his yearly salary) for trying to improve the quality of his life by taking human growth hormones to treat his diabetes. On the other hand, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was only fined $250,000 (about 3% of his yearly salary) and docked a draft pick for compromising the integrity of the NFL by blatantly cheating when he was caught video taping practices and signals.
Goodell's explanation for the extremely harsh punishment on Wilson was that "coaches are held to a higher standard...", but in most people's opinions blatantly breaking the rules is worse than a coach taking a banned substance, agreed? While I am no lawyer or legal analyst, I also look at "intent", Wilson did not INTEND to break the rules, it is obvious that Belichick INTENDED to break the rules and knew that what he was doing was not only against the rules but morally and ethically wrong.
The biggest gripe that fans and players (especially myself) have with Goodell is the lockout, and not just with labor stoppage but the fact that Goodell did not posses the leadership ability to get the two sides together for meaningful negotiations (until recently). Not only is this potentially alienating his fan base and slowing down the record growth, but he has already lost face with the players. Once you lose your employees it can be tough to get them back.
I also do not agree with the new rules on concussions, these are grown men, and if they want to subject themselves to repeated blows to the head for a lot of money, then let them do it. The dangers of post career brain injuries seem to be few and far between, of the tens of thousands of former players, it seems only a slight handful of them suffer debilitating loss of brain functions, and who is to say that some of these "loss of brain functions" would not have happened after just one shot to the head that could happen by doing a lot of non-professional football activities, or even high school and college football which is played by millions. There are a lot of non-football players that suffer the same brain trauma that football players do, and vice-versa
Another piece of his tenure that I do not agree with is the "over protection" of star players (i.e. quarterbacks, receivers, etc). Yes, they are the "stars" and do need to be protected to a point, but the over protection of them has gone a little to far to where the officials err on the side of the offensive player, and these 15-yard penalties are game changing. The rules keeping defensive players from getting in the same zip code as the quarterback at anytime or a receiver either right before he catches, during the catch, or right after the catch is damaging the integrity of the game. Defensive players are now more worried about not losing game checks then playing with instincts. Football is an inherently violent game, everybody that plays or watches realizes this, protect the players but not at the expense of the product on the field.
All in all I feel that Goodell's tenure as commissioner of the NFL has been a complete failure and this should be his one and only term. Let me know what you guys think?
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