Petition To Fire Roger Goodell

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

https://www.change.org/p/nfl-replace-roger-goodell-as-commissioner-of-the-nfl

[fondybrewfan]

I understand the primary reason for the movement but I am still not sure why this is such a big deal. People simply want him fired because Rice's initial suspension wasn't long enough and therefore he doesn't take domestic violence seriously? Whether or not he saw that tape is irrelevant to me. I guess I am just not as outraged as everyone else. At least the NFL does something for domestic issues; MLB literally does nothing at all. Nothing for domestic violence, DUI's, or basically anything else. NFL seems ahead of the curve to me. Maybe people think Goodell is a jerk because he is basically God in the NFL; but I just don't see this as a fireable offense; I mean it did lead to immediate policy change for suspensions relating to domestic violence.

[jerichoholicninja]

I would guess the initial suspension had a lot to do with what the NFL lawyers thought would be the maximum the NFL could get away with without a lawsuit from Rice or the NFLPA. Obviously, things changed after that video went public and then they knew they could pretty much do whatever they wanted to Rice.

[FVBrewerFan]

People simply want him fired because Rice's initial suspension wasn't long enough and therefore he doesn't take domestic violence seriously?

 

That's part of it, but the main reason people are this upset is that he lied about having the tape. Sort of like the whole Braun saga, the lie is worse to many people than what was done.

[Point Beer Is Best]

People simply want him fired because Rice's initial suspension wasn't long enough and therefore he doesn't take domestic violence seriously?

 

That's part of it, but the main reason people are this upset is that he lied about having the tape. Sort of like the whole Braun saga, the lie is worse to many people than what was done.

 

That's the problem - we don't know with absolute certainty that he lied. You (and many other people) are assuming he did. He very well could have been unaware that his office had the video. How I expect this to play out is that someone in the league office will end up taking the fall for this (with a nice severence package), but Goodell will remain in place. The people he truly answers to (the owners) have been extremely happy with his ability to make them even more filthy, stinkin' rich. The Bills just sold for over $1 Billion (and the sale is contingent on them having to stay in Western NY). Just a few years ago, only the Yankees and Dallas Cowboys were thought to have values in excess of $1 Billion before McCourt sold the Dodgers for over $2 Billion.

[WV Brew]

Sports leagues should leave this up to the criminal justice system, which is set up to handle these issues while affording accused players their constitutional rights. If somebody has a beef in the Rice case, it should be with the DA who handled it, not Roger Goodell. Mobs of angry sports fans are not the forum for justice ordinarily.

[I Heart Brewers]

That's the problem - we don't know with absolute certainty that he lied. You (and many other people) are assuming he did. He very well could have been unaware that his office had the video. How I expect this to play out is that someone in the league office will end up taking the fall for this (with a nice severence package), but Goodell will remain in place. The people he truly answers to (the owners) have been extremely happy with his ability to make them even more filthy, stinkin' rich. The Bills just sold for over $1 Billion (and the sale is contingent on them having to stay in Western NY). Just a few years ago, only the Yankees and Dallas Cowboys were thought to have values in excess of $1 Billion before McCourt sold the Dodgers for over $2 Billion.

 

While I agree that we don't know with absolute certainty one way or another there is a much higher probability that he at a minimum knew about the video. He may never have seen it but I doubt he never knew they had it. Why would the person in the NFL offices who received the video not run it up the flag pole? It's Corporate America, CYA.

 

Either way I think it's a sideshow that is diverting attention from the conversation on domestic abuse that could be taking place. This isn't an isolated incident. Perhaps we could use this case to have a discussion about it on at least a national level and educate ourselves a bit. This isn't the first time nor the last, let's try to evolve a bit.

 

And...remove self from soap box.

[fondybrewfan]

I absolutely agree there; this has turned into a witch hunt at the NFL offices when in reality this is all happening because a guy knocked his wife out cold. The NFL has two offer domestic abuse cases as well. It is just amazing that this stuff doesn't come out more often in MLB and when it does there is no punishment at all. NFL takes "protecting the shield" extremely seriously.

[JimH5]

There's a lot more than just this incident to the Fire Goodell stuff. The concussion crisis and the NFL's callous handling of retired players. . .The Washington Redskins racist name. . .The lack of effort on reigning in PEDs among players. . .

 

This is the most recent incident, and it seems that Goodell tried to sweep it under the rug. Anything to keep the money rolling in. People don't like that.

[FVBrewerFan]

That's the problem - we don't know with absolute certainty that he lied.

 

Very few things in life we know with absolute certainty. That's a pretty high bar. NFL home office doesn't have thousands of people working there. They had a video since April, and I find it impossible nobody told Goodell it existed. Just the fact htere's an entire formal investigation tells you the whole thing is fishy. This "investigation" shouldn't take any more than 10 minutes if everyone was telling the truth.

 

Either way I think it's a sideshow that is diverting attention from the conversation on domestic abuse that could be taking place.

 

Sideshow, no doubt. I wouldn't say it's diverting attention away from a domestic abuse conversation though, I think having this story continue day after day has put domestic abuse in the forefront. And, no offense, but I'm not sure what needs to be discussed. Is anyone in favor of domestic abuse? Anyone who doesn't think it's a big deal probably doesn't have a brain capable of learning anything on the subject.

[TheCrew07]

On the concussion issue, I just want to point out one more time that the discussion about concussions shouldn't be limited exclusively to football. Many sports including baseball had much worse or non-exsistent concussion protocols and the Packers actually hosted one of the first concussion clinics I attended almost 10 years ago now.

 

The truth is that soccer has a higher frequency and higher risk for concussion than football. Somehow how the truth about this stuff keeps getting lost in the "barbarism of the NFL" talk. Every athlete in every sport is at some degree of risk and really it's not even a sport issue, it's a life issue as it could happen to your son or daughter on the playground just as easily.

 

I've taken the Brewer trainers to task many times on the minor league forum for horrendous decisions regarding players hit in the head over the years, brain injuries have the potential to effect the rest of someone's life in a way that other injuries simply do not. I'm incredibly sensitive to the concussion issue as I once let a kid fool me into getting back onto a football field in an important game, which nearly cost him the rest of his career when he took subsequent big hit and was down for the count. After the first time we pulled him from the game he came back and told me he was ready to go, I asked him if he saw the trainer and he said he did, but I never followed up with the trainer as I was busy calling defenses at the time. He lied to me because he was a senior, and a competitor, and playing meant that much to him, but I knew all that I and knew better than to take his word for it but for some reason it never occurred to me until he got hit the 2nd time. I know firsthand how it easy it is for a minor issue to springboard to something much more serious with a secondary concussion.

 

I like that concussions have become a spotlight issue but I grow extremely weary of the continual spread of misinformation around the internet. The last time I sat through a concussion presentation, which is probably 4 or 5 years ago now, concussion rates for the various sports went this way:

 

1. Boxing

2. All levels of Soccer

3. Girls Basketball

4. All levels of Football

 

At the time it was hypothesized that Hockey would actually be 2 or 3, but Hockey's reporting of concussions was non existent so there was literally no data to quantify anything statistically, it was more of a gut feeling from the presenter based on his experience treating patients.

 

I don't get the outrage directed at the NFL, I like the fact that domestic abuse is once again being talked about, but I agree the discussion has veered off of a productive course and turned into a witch hunt. Where's the outrage for someone like K-Rod who allegedly not only beat up his wife but his father in law as well? I really don't think us men, well at least the good men who would never do something like this, have a very good handle on the whole as to why battered women stay with these people and attempt to cover it up. I would hope that people would take the time to become more educated on all of these issues so the conversation can veer away from, "well he was never convicted", as if domestic abuse is that simple.

[fondybrewfan]

The media took this to another level today. Profootballtalk is a pretty widely read online site and they took Goodell to task for being at the Masters the day the video apparently came in the mail. Are you freaking serious? Was Goodell just supposed to hole himself up in the office and not to do anything until he could get the video of an incident that happened two months prior? The media frenzy over this story is getting entirely out of control and personally I hope it bites them in the butt.

[JimH5]

I don't get the outrage directed at the NFL, I like the fact that domestic abuse is once again being talked about, but I agree the discussion has veered off of a productive course and turned into a witch hunt. Where's the outrage for someone like K-Rod who allegedly not only beat up his wife but his father in law as well? I really don't think us men, well at least the good men who would never do something like this, have a very good handle on the whole as to why battered women stay with these people and attempt to cover it up. I would hope that people would take the time to become more educated on all of these issues so the conversation can veer away from, "well he was never convicted", as if domestic abuse is that simple.

 

It's the oversize nature of the NFL that makes it such an attractive target. It's their unwillingness to allow a business to say "Super Bowl" without being licensed. It's their charging personal seat licenses to allow people the right to buy seats to their games. It's the gaudy outlandish Super Bowl rings. It's the buffoonery of Jerry Jones and Bill Bellichek and Chris Berman. It's the $40+ million salary that Roger Goodell makes. It's their unwillingness to admit wrongdoing, ever.

 

There's lots of distasteful things about the NFL that have been simmering for awhile, and this is an incident that allowed the cauldron to boil over.

 

You make an excellent point about K-Rod and his domestic violence history, conveniently forgotten by lots of us. If we're calling for Goodell's head, we should call for Doug Melvin's.

 

And regarding concussions, there is a school of thought that suggests CTE and the tau proteins that lead to it are created not only by concussive collisions, but by the multiple subconcussive collisions that occur as a regular part of play. That players are too big and fast and strong to play the game without risking brain damage to themselves and their opponents.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

There's a lot more than just this incident to the Fire Goodell stuff. The concussion crisis and the NFL's callous handling of retired players. . .The Washington Redskins racist name. . .The lack of effort on reigning in PEDs among players. . .

 

This is the most recent incident, and it seems that Goodell tried to sweep it under the rug. Anything to keep the money rolling in. People don't like that.

 

IMO this is a good summary of why this movement has started. IDK if this is why the petitioner started it, but it seems like a logical reason. if you look at goodell's entire body of work, it's mediocre IMO. does football really need that many rule changes? to begin with were fans even calling for rule changes?

 

to me it seems unnecessary. i'm fine with small changes here and there in order to protect the players. however, there are a lot of other changes that seem like overkill to me.

[jerichoholicninja]

I think the displeased (about everything with the NFL, not just the Rice situation) are in the extreme minority. It's the most popular sport in the US and shows no signs of decline, ratings are huge, everyone's making money, everyone's talking about it (good or bad). This will blow over shortly as the media finds something else to get people worked up about and Goodell will be commissioner until he doesn't want to be anymore.

[Fear The Chorizo]

The displeased may be in the minority, but Goodell's tenure has been full of alot of garbage so far.

 

Concussion issues/litigation boiling over and the current farsical officiating around "illegal" hits in a misguided effort to make a brutal game safer (not possible)

Bountygate

Spygate

Ray Rice domestic violence issue, and the ill-conceived effort to try and keep it away from public scrutiny

Two current players (Hardy and McDonald) still active after recent domestic violence charges-current investigations...(they're playing likely because they weren't caught on tape that everyone can see)

Aaron Hernandez

The Belcher murder/suicide incident at the Chiefs facility (if domestic violence was such a league focus, why not change policy then??)

The ugly Incognito/Marting bullying/locker room mentality situation, debate, and fallout

The Redskins name fiasco...at this point it seems like a much more trivial issue that what the league got itself into now

Completely nonsensical and inconsistent punishment policies for personal conduct/PEDs/team conduct

 

This Ray Rice thing has boiled over because the NFL got caught trying to cater to public opinion, which changed several times due to various levels of attention. The NFL has looked awful trying to explain its actions since this incident occurred (both the league AND the Ravens). Originally the public viewed the Ray Rice incident similarly to countless others, and the league/Ravens went about their "investigation" similarly to other incidents...they waited until the public eye moved on to other issues before issuing the penalty. The timing and optics of giving Ray Rice 2 games for knocking a woman out and suspending Josh Gordon a season for smoking weed was terrible in the public eye. So, the NFL tried to cater to public opinion and Goodell threw together a Domestic Violence policy that appears much stiffer but still leaves too much room for interpretation in the eyes of many. Then, the tape showing Rice's actual act comes out in public, which the NFL apparently figured wasn't going to happen for some reason, and then both the Ravens and Goodell tried to ease public outrage by releasing/suspending Rice indefinitely. Goodell's CBS interview and subsequent reports about when the NFL actually got that video and what Goodell actually knew from Rice's 1sthand account prior to issuing the 1st 2 game suspension basically make him out to be either an arrogant liar heading an organization desperately trying to divert public scrutiny elsewhere at every turn, or intentionally negligent (the ostrich in the sand defense). Either should be worthy of losing his job as commissioner, but ironically the only way that currently happens is if NFL owners decide it's his time to go...the same people Goodell's made a ton of money, who happen to have a laundry list of their own issues that give the league a black eye (Jerry Jones recently, Irsay, etc).

 

Frankly a trained monkey could make the NFL money as commissioner with its current popularity, so that should give the owners even more reason to view Goodell as expendable for the benefit of getting public outrage off their backs...that's always been what their main concern is - get rid of adverse situations the easiest way possible, pull the curtain back over the "shield", and keep making money.

[fondybrewfan]

Except that despite all those issues the NFL is still as popular as ever and raking in the owners a ridiculous amount of money. Goodell has generally been pretty aggressive on "protecting the shield" but he has done that because he can. The CBA was incredibly favorable to the NFL in that regard; he is basically judge, jury, and executioner. If the NFLPA didn't like that; then they shouldn't have agreed to it. No doubt that Roger probably has a huge ego and probably takes enjoyment in being God, but the results of his actions have still led to large increases in the bottom line to the owners and an incredibly popular sport.

[JimH5]

I suspect that Goodell will survive the Ray Rice case.

 

The only thing that will bring him down is if people stop watching games/buying merchandise, etc. There's no indication of that, so for now, it's mostly just unpleasant noise for Goodell and the league.

 

I really wonder if there is anything anymore that would ever cause viewership to go down. Maybe if we found out that games were fixed, or if a prominent player died on the field, or if games became punt-fests.

 

It dominates television like nothing else. It's a good game for gambling & for fantasy. There's tradition and great athletics. It's a very compelling product, and people seem not to care about the dirty laundry.

[JimH5]

Ha! Adrian Peterson!!

 

When it rains, it pours!

 

Next, TMZ will find a link between Peyton Manning and ISIS.

[bjkrautk]

Ha! Adrian Peterson!!

 

When it rains, it pours!

 

Next, TMZ will find a link between Peyton Manning and ISIS.

 

...well, at least we know AP spends time with one of his kids...

[WV Brew]

"Redskins" is not a derogatory term. Link to origin of the term "Redskins":

 

http://anthropology.si.edu/goddard/redskin.pdf

 

The team was originally in Boston before moving to Washington and its coach happened to be Native American. Presumably he did not object to this tribute to him as a coach. I have seen references to Native Americans being called "Redskin" during the era of Discovery because of the red paint that particular tribes habitually used. Is that derogatory? Really, this is an issue which has been seized by activists seeking to promote their causes. Maybe the NFL will force the Redskins to change their name eventually but it will have nothing to do with reality but only with public relations.

 

Disclaimer: I despise the 'Skins for other reasons.

[TURBO]

My interest in the NFL has lessened quite a bit the last 3 or 4 years. I can not stand the amopunt of commercial time during the games. It is maddening.

 

The Redskins issue is stupid. Just more politically correct nonsense. What about the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians? What about the Brewers, do we really need to glorify alcohol consumption in an already alcohol soaked society? There are others, but you get the point.

 

We are also forgetting the Ray Lewis murder witness scam... This clown witnessed a murder, and never helped the police solve the crime. Now he is revered like a hero, the best player ever, blah blah blah... Just seeing the guy makes me want to puke, but the NFL and media fall all over him like he is a god, completely forgetting about his past. I could go on and on about other issues in the NFL that bother me, but there is no need at this point...

[AZBrewCrew]

Ha! Adrian Peterson!!

 

When it rains, it pours!

 

Next, TMZ will find a link between Peyton Manning and ISIS.

 

...well, at least we know AP spends time with one of his kids...

Too soon? Lol

[JimH5]

Keith Olbermann has aired evidence of an old news interview where the owner of the team specifically said that the team was not named in tribute to any Native American coach or player.

 

And as for the name being offensive or not..it most certainly is offensive to those who are offended.

[Invader3K]

I have very mixed feeling on the issue of Roger Goodell. I think the whole incident doesn't reflect well on the commisioner's office. That said, I think with social media latching onto this story, the whole thing seems like it has turned into a witch hunt in order to destroy everyone even remotely associated with this incident. Ray Rice was the one who did the act, and he lost his job. Really, shouldn't that be the result people would want?

 

I also find the attempts to armchair psycho-analyze Rice's now wife pretty despicable.

 

re: Redskins name, I get there may be historic non-offensive reasons for the name...but the use of the word "negroe" didn't use to be offensive either. No one would name a team "The Negroes" in 2014. I doubt anyone would go up to a Native American they didn't know and call them a "Redskin" either. To me, it seems like the Washington ownership should want to change the name because it's become too much of a liability, PC reasons or not.