NFL Football: A History of America's New National Pastime

11 Defending the Shield

11 Defending the Shield Roger Goodell seemed to have been born for the position of NFL commissioner, and he trained for the role most of his adult life. When Dan Rooney, the cochair of the Commissioner Search Committee, knocked at Goodell’s hotel room door, Roger was delighted, overwhelmed with emotion, but hardly surprised. When he graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in 1981, Goodell wrote a letter to his father, the former senator from New York, telling him that he wanted to accomplish two things in life: become commissioner of the NFL and make his father proud of him.1 Armed with little more than an undergraduate degree in economics, Goodell joined the league office as an unpaid intern in 1982 during the reign of Pete Rozelle. Goodell landed this position after an extensive letter writing campaign to league and team offices. In 1983 he moved on to a paid position with the Jets, and then returned to the league office the following year as a public relations assistant. In 1987 Rozelle appointed Goodell as assistant to Lamar Hunt, president of the AFC. Three years later he went to work for Commissioner Paul Tagliabue where, over the next decade, Goodell served in nearly every capacity of league operations. In December 2001 Tagliabue appointed him NFL executive vice president and chief operating officer. Goodell once said that his work with Rozelle and Tagliabue were his MBA equivalent. No doubt that was true, and with a very well-connected placement department. Goodell was one of five finalists for commissioner and he never trailed in the voting through the five ballots it took to make the decision. He assumed his duties on September 1, 2006.2 From the start Goodell faced numerous problems, issues, and public relations disasters. Some of them were serious and had the potential to inflict damage on the NFL, while others were minor challenges for a leader with well-honed Crepeau_text.indd 171 7/1/14 11:29 AM T h e N e w N F L 172 public relations skills. Goodell styled himself as protector of the brand, or even more pretentiously, protector of the shield. He displayed a combination of great skill, woodenness of personality, and an imperious pairing of hubris and arrogance. In his first year as commissioner Goodell dealt with several public relations issues. “Spygate” produced charges that the hooded genius, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, was using video equipment to spy on opponents. Much more serious was the firestorm of media and public protest over Falcons quarterback Michael Vick’s involvement in a dog-fighting ring. These were followed by an array of serious issues, including player conduct, concussions, the bounty scandal, and the maintenance of labor peace. Discipline Spying on practices, stealing signs, or seeking insider information is nearly as old as team sport. In the NFL it was assumed that teams used espionage, but the rule was, “Don’t get caught.” For nearly a year the charges of spying and a cover-up swirled around Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. The opportunity to attack an elite team and elite coach fueled a media frenzy that seemed in retrospect worth no more than a few days or a few weeks of national attention. In the end, little was found of significance beyond the perfunctory taping, which violated Article 9 of the NFL constitution and bylaws . To avoid the appearance of favoritism or being soft, Goodell fined the New England Patriots $250,000 and Coach Belichick $500,000 and took away one first-round draft pick.3 High on the list of issues facing the commissioner in his first year was player conduct, especially off-field. During Goodell’s first year, in the neighborhood of three dozen players were arrested. In response the commissioner moved to strengthen the league conduct policy to allow him to discipline teams, league and team personnel, and players. He consulted many people, including Gene Upshaw of the NFLPA. Goodell emphasized that to be found not guilty was not sufficient for exoneration. NFL personnel would be held to a higher standard.4 The case of Michael Vick, the talented and charismatic quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, was the first test of the new policy. Cruelty to animals in any form in America is seen as a horrific crime. In July 2007, following an investigation of a dog-fighting ring, a federal grand jury in Richmond, Virginia , indicted Vick and his associates on charges of crossing state...