Kiwon
02-04-2013, 03:06 AM
Not that many months ago, Roger Goodell was the baddest of bad asses.
With 'BountyGate', he just didn't drop the hammer, he dropped the sledge hammer. He was the Commissioner and he was out to clean up the game in a very public way.
But with the setbacks after 'BountyGate' was thoroughly investigated and his decisions questioned, along with the mushrooming 'Concussion' class action lawsuit, controversial rule changes that are reshaping the game, and now the re-focus on PEDs, I wonder if Goodell's job is completely safe.
The guy's connected, no doubt. He comes from the "right" family and keeps the "right" set of friends. He's got plenty of juice with the owners and others in NYC and the dollars are rolling in for the league.
But, despite all that, it seems to me that he had gone a long way towards alienating himself from the players and the fans. He’s damaged goods right now and I think he's got a long uphill climb to win many of them back.
Most people will say that they want reform and want things to be cleaned up, but they really don't once reality sets in. Leaders who sincerely try to change a business/organization's culture and "set things right" are easily demonized for their efforts and usually make some enemies out of former friends.
Goodell has done some things very well ($$$$$), but he's stumbled badly enough to the point where I think he's left himself vulnerable. His lying low in New Orleans during the lead up to the Super Bowl, the biggest of the big stage related to his office, indicates his weakened public position. He was avoiding the New Orleans fans and their protests and the questions from the media, who is as eager to make news as report it.
(**** Caution, FYI thread-type comment. Sensitive reader's discretion advised) Given the climate of the day, the results of the last presidential election and the fact that the majority of NFL players are African-American, I wouldn't be surprised to see a movement to replace Goodell with a "minority."
Commissioner of the NFL is a high-profile, plum job and no doubt, among the true believers, having a "minority" in that position would push all the important "diversity", "inclusiveness" and "progressive" buttons, would signal a true break from the past, win back some disaffected fans, make a whole lot of new fans, and build new bridges to the stars of the show, the players. I don’t look at the world through this type of prism but I know that there are plenty of people who do.
So……that being said, just how sound do you think Goodell is in his job?
With 'BountyGate', he just didn't drop the hammer, he dropped the sledge hammer. He was the Commissioner and he was out to clean up the game in a very public way.
But with the setbacks after 'BountyGate' was thoroughly investigated and his decisions questioned, along with the mushrooming 'Concussion' class action lawsuit, controversial rule changes that are reshaping the game, and now the re-focus on PEDs, I wonder if Goodell's job is completely safe.
The guy's connected, no doubt. He comes from the "right" family and keeps the "right" set of friends. He's got plenty of juice with the owners and others in NYC and the dollars are rolling in for the league.
But, despite all that, it seems to me that he had gone a long way towards alienating himself from the players and the fans. He’s damaged goods right now and I think he's got a long uphill climb to win many of them back.
Most people will say that they want reform and want things to be cleaned up, but they really don't once reality sets in. Leaders who sincerely try to change a business/organization's culture and "set things right" are easily demonized for their efforts and usually make some enemies out of former friends.
Goodell has done some things very well ($$$$$), but he's stumbled badly enough to the point where I think he's left himself vulnerable. His lying low in New Orleans during the lead up to the Super Bowl, the biggest of the big stage related to his office, indicates his weakened public position. He was avoiding the New Orleans fans and their protests and the questions from the media, who is as eager to make news as report it.
(**** Caution, FYI thread-type comment. Sensitive reader's discretion advised) Given the climate of the day, the results of the last presidential election and the fact that the majority of NFL players are African-American, I wouldn't be surprised to see a movement to replace Goodell with a "minority."
Commissioner of the NFL is a high-profile, plum job and no doubt, among the true believers, having a "minority" in that position would push all the important "diversity", "inclusiveness" and "progressive" buttons, would signal a true break from the past, win back some disaffected fans, make a whole lot of new fans, and build new bridges to the stars of the show, the players. I don’t look at the world through this type of prism but I know that there are plenty of people who do.
So……that being said, just how sound do you think Goodell is in his job?