.
Standard disclaimer: I am not qualified to have an opinion about football. But the people who are paid to write about it don’t seem to have a very good opinion of Roger Goodell — and not just the New Englanders, either. Here’s Sally Jenkins, sportswriter for the Washington Post in the home of the Outdated Ethnic Slurs:
Judge Richard M. Berman turned Roger Goodell’s desk over and spilled its embarrassingly sparse contents onto the floor. Goodell’s imperious conduct, faulty reasoning and vanity-driven clutching at authority in the Tom Brady case were all exposed in a 40-page decision of measured legal language. Lesson to first-year law students: Collective bargaining agreements don’t give an NFL commissioner the right to act like a petty prince.
Goodell pushed a bad case purely out of hubris and overconfidence, sure of finding a friendly federal judge to cooperate with his power-consolidating agenda. But the days of preferential treatment are over for the NFL — and for Goodell personally. One byproduct of the Brady decision will be a dawning awareness by NFL owners that they need a more worldly and less entitled man to run the league office at 345 Park Avenue, to replace the hermetically sealed-in arrogance of Goodell’s reign.
Goodell has never worked anywhere but the NFL; he started there as a panting intern in 1982, during the heart of an era summed up by Tex Schramm’s infamous statement to head of the players’ union Gene Upshaw, “We’re the ranchers, you’re the cattle.” Goodell’s entire tenure has been imbued by his fundamental attitude that, as NFL management, he wielded a special and unassailable boots-on the-porch authority backed by wealth. His act simply doesn’t play anymore, whether it’s failing to grasp that domestic violence is a complex human resources issue as opposed to a matter of a two-game suspension or his failure to recognize that his evasions on the workplace issues of head trauma and drug-masking beg for federal interference, as once was imposed on the coal kings regarding black lung….
The Brady case is a huge loss for the NFL. It has opened the league to legal challenges from every dog-fighter and wife-beater it seeks to discipline for workplace violations. It’s the biggest threat to control of its affairs since Al Davis won the right to relocate the Oakland Raiders. And it’s all the result of a terrible temperamental flaw in Goodell…
Dave Roth, self-professed Jets fan, at Vice Sports:
It doesn’t matter, really, because Roger Goodell is the one person employed by NFL owners who cannot be fired for losing all the time. But it’s worth mentioning all the same: Thursday’s Federal Court ruling vacating Goodell’s four-game suspension of Tom Brady for his maybe-sorta Deflategate-related misconduct dropped the NFL’s record to 0-4 in arbitration related league suspensions. If Goodell were a quarterback who started a season with this many decisive and self-created defeats, stories would’ve been running for weeks in which coordinators were quoted talking about how much Ryan Fitzpatrick’s teammates trust him and how sharp he’s looked in practice. The coach would allow—in that heavily qualified cop-syntax that NFL coaches enjoy—that making a change is not at all off the table.
That is not happening, here. Change is, as always, off the table where Goodell and the NFL is concerned. Goodell—one of the very few people in the NFL with a guaranteed contract—will be paid more than twice as much this season than Aaron Rodgers, whose $22 million salary is the NFL’s highest…
From the beginning, easy virtue—the ecstasy of sanctimony and the cheap buzz of telling someone no—has been what Deflategate was about. The owners leaned on Goodell to throw the book at Brady, despite a lack of precedent or decisive evidence. Goodell, who always has the book in his hand anyway, and who I keep comparing to Teddy Ruxpin for a reason, did what he was told, which happens to be his reflex. And so the NFL threw millions of dollars away on an investigation that can most generously be described as Many Pages Long, and refused to trim its sails or back off its bizarre discipline or even negotiate in decent faith with the other side. A small-bore problem that could have been solved with a fine (and eliminated forever with a simple rule change) devolved into a Zoolanderian pose-off between a bunch of righteous pink billionaires, exactly none of whom stood to lose anything…
And Mr. Charles P. Pierce — okay, he’s probably a little biased, apart from his current gig as a political commentor — says “The Tom Brady Decision Is a Win for Anyone With a Job“:
… There was a lot of talk during the extended legal maneuvering about the precedential value of Garvey, a Supreme Court decision involving former baseball star Steve Garvey, that strictly limited a court’s ability to review a decision reached by an arbitrator. (In this case, because of a truly stupid concession by the players in the last CBA, Goodell was allowed to sit in arbitration of his own decision.) In his decision, Berman simply ignores Garvey, and instead relies upon two other cases – Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Co. and Kaplan v. Alfred Dunhill of London, Inc – which mandate that an arbitrator’s decision be based on some sort of substantive due process…
And that is a win for everyone who has been victimized by the increasing power of employers over employees, and everyone who has been victimized by a management-friendly system of workplace arbitration….
Your thoughts?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Brung up from below: Joe Scarborough tweeted that Barack Obama is now (after the Iran vote) the most partisan president in history, and historians will decide who’s to blame. Kevin Kruse, an actual historian, replied and his 16-tweet reply has been storified (which means cut and pasted in a readable order, I guess).
Bobby Thomson
Please don’t Lemieux this to death. People outside New England really don’t give a shit.
Bobby Thomson
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: damn, that’s nice.
PeakVT
I think I’d rather read a 1000 page transcript of a Palin-Trump interview than read anything more about Deflategate. It is easily the stupidest controversy in pro sports ever – far more so than the pine tar incident.
JPL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Thank you for that link.
Baud
The only thing more boring than this controversy is the Hillary email “scandal.”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
also, too, as far as Obama being partisan about Iran, this is from a NYMag story about Sheldon Adelson and the Republicans:
Jeb? has to win back Adelson’s favor for the sin of being associated with the Arabist James Baker (whole article is worth the read, IMHO)
ETA: also makes me wonder when that was written in relation to Scowcroft, Lugar and Powell endorsing the deal, and if any of those “dignitaries” warned off were Senators
benw
Wait, are we supposed to fight about Deflategate in this thread or the last? Or just keep fighting? Should someone go back to the old thread and let them know we’re fighting here?
schrodinger's cat
Open thread blog pimping: I can has a post about a more contentious issue than sports, my thoughts about a recent book the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan. This book garnered many good reviews, including a New Yorker review which was highlighted by Anne Laurie on the FP here.
PurpleGirl
Don’t know much about sports…
Redshift
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Very nice. Republicans are a lost cause, but it would be nice to have a little more acknowledgement of this in the media.
Peale
Your moment of Zen foxes.
MazeDancer
@Bobby Thomson:
Historian Kruse’s learned, polite, and complete smack-down of Joe Scarborough’s absurd tweet was beautiful to behold. Thanks for posting.
Guessing Mika won’t be reading it outloud on tomorrow’s show.
Redshift
Also, if you want a good laugh, go read the comments on Jennifer Rubin’s post about how embarrassed the Dems are going to be for using a filibuster to stop the disapproval resolution on the Iran deal.
Self-awareness is not her strong suit.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@MazeDancer: Bashri would’ve read it every day for a month, till he got a memo from upstairs.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’ll add my thanks to the others for posting that. Good stuff.
benw
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
He’s also the most black President in history. Coincidence? I report, you decide!
Baud
@benw:
More like, cause and effect.
PaulW
Opening up the NFL’s punishment system to a due process requirement is huge. But given how secretive the owners are and the league offices are – we’re finding out Spygate was resolved too quickly in order to avoid a legitimate FEDERAL investigation – the possibility of such process seems impossible.
The league – all organized sports, in fact – faces a serious threat to the status quo of how they’ve done business and generated billions at minimum cost.
PaulW
Blog flog: gaming out the likelihood of a government shutdown YET again, this time with the odds that Boehner gets cooked before or during that shutdown push…
http://noticeatrend.blogspot.com/2015/09/because-house-republicans-never-paid.html
catclub
@Bobby Thomson: Agreed. It is refreshing to have someone state simple facts.
geg6
Deflategate was bullshit, even though I have no doubt that Brady colluded with ball boys to try some stupid maneuver. He’s an idiot wingnut after all, so you can’t expect him to play by the rules. But the new info on Spygate is damming, both for the cheat invest team to ever hit the gridiron but for That disgusting Kraft toady, Goodell. It would only be fitting that his downfall would come from crossing the guy who’s knob he’s been polishing to get get where he is. Karma is a mother fucker. Now, if she’s only turn her attention to Kraft and Belichick…
catclub
@PaulW:
really? Let me know when the public stops funding stadiums.
PurpleGirl
LaGuardia is using the bad weather landing pattern tonight. I’ve got planes over my head (my building) roughly every 2.5 minutes. Hope the weather system leaves soon.
MazeDancer
@Peale:
The blissed out foxes were wonderful!
catclub
@Redshift: Yeah, I heard the quote from Mitch McConnell saying that the Democrats should not embarass themselves by resorting to parliamentary maneuvers. It is to laugh.
CTVoter
I don’t care a whit, about the Patriots, or Brady-Gate. I do care about arbitration. And this seems like a bit of a win for arbitration rulings. As for Goodell? Spending your career in hermetically sealed rooms only to emerge as the public face of a multibillion dollar enterprise? Golly.
As for the NFL Players Union? That particular concession seems kinda stupid.
jl
The incompetent crooked ass Goodell, said that he could find no relationship between the NFL decisions on the Pats taping scandal and deflategate.
If the reports are true, this idiot drip cooked them both up in his moron head and then pulled them both out of his ass and presented them to the world.
So, why did he have to go looking to see if there was a relationship? He should know. But, maybe he had to ask one of his flunkies he keeps around to remind him what time of day it is and how to get back home after work. The guy who keeps track of what this demented fool Goodell does from one day to the next.
Mike in NC
@MazeDancer: He’s “JoeNBC”. Such modesty.
SiubhanDuinne
@Peale:
<3
JPL
@jl: What’s up with ESPN just spouting made up bullshit from the NFL?
beltane
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: From the Twitter feed of the person who put that together, I also learned that there are wingnut rumors of a Black Panther 9/11 attack on US schools. Maybe the Kenyan Usurper is going to force schoolchildren to chant “Denali! Denali! under giant statues of Malcolm X.
MazeDancer
@Mike in NC:
There are no other Joe’s at NBC, of course, or even the entirety of 30 Rock.
Can’t believe they’re giving that show another hour. Makes no sense. Simpering Mika, ranting Joe, non-stop GOP media hacks like Halperin have brought ever-dipping ratings. So they’re going to make it longer?
Roger Moore
@Redshift:
It’s always projection. Always.
dmsilev
@Redshift: _Does_ Jennifer Rubin have a strong suit?
Tenar Darell
I had a marvelous rant about this the other day where, in summary I said, the NFL obviously doesn’t give a sh*t about its balls or its balls wouldn’t be kept by the teams, but by the officials, just like the balls in the MLB! So anyway, why should I give a damn about the teams’ balls! ETA can’t expand on the articles or Goodell hackery
lamh36
can’t go wrong ending night with a little Otis Redding! Yesterday would have been his 74th birthday.
Try A Little Tenderness (LIVE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ9n2_5mbig
Been Loving You Too Long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vUc17A0SNY
Darnit now I can’t stop watching Otis Redding videos on YouTube!
lamh36
If you know me, then you know my favorite movie is Dirty Dancing…so you know probably my fav Otis Redding song is from a scene in the movie… If you love the movie as much as I do, then you’ll know the scene I”m talking about…lol
These Arms Of Mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaO50nWnvg
Morzer
@dmsilev:
She’s got a wetsuit….
JPL
Wow.. Just another wild score for Gronk..
aah.. took back the touchdown.. first and goal
Mr Stagger Lee
I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are the most popular team in Serbia, watching the game on Serbian TV.
benw
@Tenar Darell:
You’d think I’d stop finding comments about balls so funny, but then one like yours comes along…
Tenar Darell
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: This was really good. Thanks. (Too bad it will never get wider distribution – Scarborough is part of the memory hole crew on MSNBC – it never happened).
MazeDancer
@lamh36:
Otis Redding was such a spectacular talent. Only 26 when that plane crashed. Such a huge loss.
Scandal, the TV Show, used “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember” very powerfully this season. It felt remixed, and beautifully done. Episode called “Honor Thy Father” (Episode 18, Season 4, comes at the end) if you ever want to look it up on Netlfix.
Tenar Darell
@benw: As much as I’m tempted to try and top this, I’ll just rest on my single home run. ;-)
different-church-lady
Extremely few people who have opinions about football are.
However, one person who is qualified to have opinions about football is Bob Costas, and he decided to open the NBC broadcast of tonight’s game with an editorial essay entitled (I paraphrase), “The Guy Running This League is a Ridiculous Nincompoop Who Needs to Stand Down and Get A Grip.”
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh36: Some more Otis. He and the members of the Bar-Kays crashed into a lake here in Madison. Sorry, world.
p.a.
Local lawyer interviewed about the decision:”2nd district court of appeals has not upheld an overturn of an arbitration decision in 20 years.”
Maybe Commissioner Queeg’s choice of NY will work out after all.
redshirt
Go Pats!
Joel
@Bobby Thomson: This is the Trump of professional sports.
J R in WV
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Thanks!
Just wow. 16 sentence fragments, each with a fact or two, showing that Obama was and is the least partisan president at least since before FDR.
Amazing! That needs to be part of every news program Fox runs until the primaries are over.
Of course, being proven historical facts, the Wingnut Wackjobs won’t believe a word of it.
Barney
My thoughts: The New England Patriots were caught cheating, giving their quarterback an unfair advantage. An appropriate punishment was to suspend their use of that quarterback for a few games. The Patriots should still have to pay him during that time, because he didn’t make the decision to cheat, or know about it, as far as we can tell.
Simple.
Steeplejack
@MazeDancer:
Here you go: Otis Redding, “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember” (along with a playlist for the whole Scandal series).