September 18, 2014

From Pete Rozelle to Roger Goodell

Being a sports impresario – in this case an NFL commissioner – has never been easy. I know such magnificoes oversee the most prosperous sport in the country. They just put the logo of the NFL on a product line and watch the money flow in. Do they have a line of formal wear or of gardening equipment? It is only a matter of time, and sports fans will be drawn to them with wallets open. Does the NFL have a line of women’s lingerie? Apparently, Mr. Roger Goodell, the present commissioner of the NFL, is contemplating it. Why else would he be so apprehensive about a handful of women critics out there squalling in the audience along with his millions of admirers, both men and women, both wearers of lingerie and opponents. Goodell has just appointed four women to some sort of policy positions in the NFL to appease this angry minority. As I say, being a sports impresario has never been as easy as it looks.

Being a sports impresario – in this case an NFL commissioner – has never been easy. I know such magnificoes oversee the most prosperous sport in the country. They just put the logo of the NFL on a product line and watch the money flow in. Do they have a line of formal wear or of gardening equipment? It is only a matter of time, and sports fans will be drawn to them with wallets open. Does the NFL have a line of women’s lingerie? Apparently, Mr. Roger Goodell, the present commissioner of the NFL, is contemplating it. Why else would he be so apprehensive about a handful of women critics out there squalling in the audience along with his millions of admirers, both men and women, both wearers of lingerie and opponents.

Goodell has just appointed four women to some sort of policy positions in the NFL to appease this angry minority. As I say, being a sports impresario has never been as easy as it looks.

I was first made aware of this back in the early 1970s when I appeared on a national television show with Pete Rozelle, the Roger Goodell of his day, and Aileen Hernandez, then leader of the National Organization for Women, she having made her way through the jungle of left-wing union organizations. Possibly you have wondered where these angry women came from. You thought they were feminist theorists thinking weird thoughts in their studies or suburban housewives manque. Well, Aileen was originally a union rabble-rouser until she found a more lucrative hustle. As for me, I was onstage in my lifelong capacity as a political commentator. Of course, Rozelle was the center of attention until Aileen, a rather elephantine woman, piped up and announced that as the feminist revolution gathered steam, and little girls began competing in sports such as wrestling and football, they would resist “institutional sexism” and grow as big and strong and mean as any NFL linebacker. Soon they would be competing for slots in the NFL. Rozelle was rendered speechless. I stepped in with a joke, and he was off the hook. As I say, being a commissioner for the NFL is never easy.

Now Goodell has several NFL athletes charged with child abuse and spousal abuse or at least girlfriend abuse, along with a controversy about head injuries. As for Goodell personally, he is charged with lying to the public, mishandling these controversies, and treating at least one of the athletes to double jeopardy. Naturally, the modern-day Aileen Hernandezes in his audience are calling for his job. So far as I can ascertain, he has only the majority of the American people behind him, along with Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity. That is not much when you have our cultural elites – feminists, the media and members of Congress – clamoring for your job and clamoring for still worse for these loutish athletes.

What is more, facts are facts, not the loveliest of our fellow countrymen become professional athletes, franchise owners, or what are called “other league-affiliated persons” – and do not fail to include the loud-mouthed commentators. A friend of mine who teaches a class in criminal law regularly retrieves criminal justice news for her class from the sports pages, especially in autumn.

What is an intelligent observer to make of all this? Rush and his colleagues obviously believe that this is another example of American elites falling on a popular American pastime. If the NFL were back in its sandlot infancy these noisy women would be picking on something else, possibly the popularity of the Congressional Medal of Honor, possibly Mother’s Day, or do they already abominate Mother’s Day? At any rate, Rush and his friends have a point. Yet, the wrongs alleged in these instances are quite horrible. They are not unique to the NFL. Still, they are quite horrible, an example of the increased coarsening of our society. Forty years ago such criminal behavior from a professional athlete was rare. Now it is not.

I think for now we can say that each instance of alleged criminal behavior should be treated by the criminal justice system. A criminal judgment should bar an athlete from the NFL. As for additional action against misdemeanants, that is Goodell’s call, but I am for his taking prudent action. Let us clean up the NFL and be rid of these noisy critics.

COPYRIGHT 2014 CREATORS.COM

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.