I am joining the mob in calling for the resignation of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Under his leadership, the league has been set down the wrong path.
Goodell’s biggest accomplishment is turning the league into a revenue machine, bringing in $9 billion annually for the league. This explains why he takes in $44 million a year. In 2013, the NFL had the best TV ratings it has ever had, largely because watching football in today’s HD screen-filled world is amazing. But that’s not Goodell’s doing. As the NFL viewing experience continues to get better, Goodell is ruining the product on the field.
For example, Goodell has asked referees to emphasize defensive holding and illegal contact calls in the secondary. As if it’s not hard enough to stop the passing game in Goodell’s NFL already. Passer ratings are off the chart, with Nick Foles posting the third highest rating of all time last year. Peyton Manning broke nearly every passing record the NFL keeps track of in 2013, and his Broncos scored more points than any team in history.
But the defense-first Seahawks beat them in the Super Bowl, so Goodell had to go further. Refs called four times as many defensive holding penalties in the preseason and there will be far more penalties called this year than last year.
Increased roughing the passer calls have already taken their toll on the league. For example, this perfect play by the Rams’ Malcolm Brockers on Jay Cutler earned the Bears fifteen yards and a first down.
Goodell does this under the guise of "protecting the players," but we all know it is just to make the league more high scoring.
After every incomplete pass, fans now have to make sure the yellow flag indicator hasn’t popped up next to the score. After a sack, we look straight to the referee to make sure it will count.
Defense is great and fans of the NFL love to see it. Referees are terrible, and should be minimized in our game experience as much as possible.
It’s not like Goodell has that much faith in them anyway, as he is the one responsible for subjecting the world to the "replacement referees" in the 2012 season. As a reminder, they were responsible for this "touchdown" call:
But Goodell didn’t think it was worth it to get the real referees back, even though his NFL has made them the most important men on the field.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Goodell is standing by a season long suspension for Browns superstar wide receiver Josh Gordon, who, after passing 70 drug tests, failed one with a sample that would have been judged clean even by the Olympics. I’m sure the fans in Cleveland are stoked that once American hero Johnny Football takes the reins, he won’t have his best weapon. Thanks, Goodell!
Goodell has also been secretly meeting with those who want to force the Redskins to make a name change, even though he publicly claims to support the name.
A majority of Americans, and an even more convincing percentage of fans of the team, want the name to stay, so it should.
Goodell has always been more about symbolic shows of anti-racism anyway. He has continued the NFL’s "Rooney rule," which mandates that teams interview a black coach for any opening before making a hire.
The rule is broken. It has not created a league with more black coaches, and often frustrates coaches who are brought in to be interviewed and feel as though they are only being brought in as a way for the team to comply with the rule. I think the best way for black coaches to break through is with results, and that shouldn’t be a problem.
On the issue of Ray Rice, the fault lies more with New Jersey prosecutors, who decided to allow Rice into a year-long "supervised rehabilitation program" instead of hitting him with any real charges, than with the NFL. This is not to say the NFL is without fault for attempting to get away with a measly two game suspension before the full truth got out.
There is also the question of how much evidence the NFL had, even if it wasn't its responsibility to gather that material.
The idea that the NFL would cover up evidence under Goodell is not farfetched. When pressed by Sen. Arlen Spector (D., Penn.), Goodell stood by destroying the evidence against the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick in the "SpyGate" scandal in which the team illicitly taped its rival New York Jets’ practices.
The NFL is also far from a pro-women league. The most visible attempt by the NFL to be pro-women is making its players wear pink accessories for much of the season to raise money for breast cancer charity.
Unfortunately, the league gives less than 10 percent of the money it raises through the initiative to charity.
The league also showcases Cris Collinsworth as one of its most visible announcers. He famously said that he is a "big star" with girls in the 14-18 age range, and that he likes "girls that aren't too bright because you can trick 'em a little bit."
The league covered that up too, with the NFL invoking copyright laws to make sure that the video is removed whenever it resurfaces.
The world’s greatest sports league needs to fix its many problems and has an easy answer:
Condoleeza Rice.
