Another Goodell blunder
It has been a rough day for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, with a U.S. Senator coming down on him and all. Come to think of it, it is curious that Goodell never spoke with Matt Walsh, a longtime employee in the Patriots’ video department, who claims to have more incriminating evidence that dates back several years.
As someone who felt “Spygate” was overblown, even I am beginning to wonder how pervasive the issue really was. But my question to Goodell is on a different subject:
Why are you stealing revenue from the city of New Orleans?
Although word had leaked out earlier in the week, at his state of the league press conference today Goodell proudly announced the New Orleans Saints will play a scheduled “home game” against the San Diego Chargers on October 26 — in London.
Sure is good New Orleans rebuilt the Superdome to generate much-needed money in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, only to see the NFL rush in like a flood and sweep that money away.
Saints owner Tom Benson, who wants to permanently move the team elsewhere despite a loyal fan base on the Bayou, quickly agreed to the England plan.
“We think it will actually be a great thing for the people of New Orleans,” Goodell told the Associated Press. “It’s going to create an opportunity where you can get more people from London to come into New Orleans and Louisiana. I actually think this is going to be a great benefit to the community economically.”
Really? So why didn’t you send the Saints to Wembley for one of their away games?
Goodell doesn’t care about New Orleans. He’s using the league’s most sympathetic franchise to promote the NFL overseas — at the expense of that franchise’s region.
Goodell has been praised for his hard-line stance against NFL players who get into trouble off the field, but being a disciplinarian doesn’t necessarily signify leadership. With his destruction of evidence, a looming labor fight with a players union that has dug in and, now, taking money from a city that needs it like no other, maybe this guy Goodell isn’t such a good commissioner after all.
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