Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison told Men’s Journal last July he wouldn’t piss on National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell if the man was on fire. Harrison’s teammate, Ryan Clark, recently told CBS Sports “I’m not going to sit across from [Goodell] unless they handcuff me. Which is probably the next step anyway.”
Goodell is clearly reviled by the players he oversees, but apparently that doesn’t bother team owners in the slightest.
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| Above: It could be a long road ahead for Goodell and Player's Association leader DeMaurice Smith. |
The NFL recently announced it would extend his contract through March 2019. Although he was incredibly unpopular with fans and players during the 4 ½ month lockout, Goodell helped the organization through difficult times to see of its most financially successful seasons ever.
The league’s triumph this year was evident in its TV numbers. 23 of the 25 highest-rated television broadcasts last fall were NFL games, and as a result total NFL national media revenues might reach $7 billion annually thanks to a 60% price hike for rights to televise games. Not too shabby from our boy Roger.
There’s a blindingly bright economic future in store for the NFL, but if the next seven years sound like a breeze for Goodell, they won’t be.
Assuming that America isn’t ruled by the Chinese and/or cyborgs by March 2019, the NFL could potentially have much more trouble at hand than another looming collective bargaining agreement.
Though the league will most likely continue to teeter on borderline class warfare between highly compensated athletes and grossly overcompensated owners, the biggest issue threatening the league’s future prosperity is its ambivalence about player safety.
In an attempt to promote player safety, the NFL recently began fining pros for what it sees as violations of its “Player Safety Rules.” These fines include, but are not limited to, horse collar tackles, late hits, spearing, blindside blocks, low blocks, hits on defenseless players, and “Impermissible Use of the Helmet.”
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| Above: James Harrison was fined and suspended one game for this hit on Colt McCoy. Should he have been? |
In an attempt to promote player safety, the NFL recently began fining pros for what it sees as violations of its “Player Safety Rules.” These fines include, but are not limited to, horse collar tackles, late hits, spearing, blindside blocks, low blocks, hits on defenseless players, and “Impermissible Use of the Helmet.”
The problem with many of these fines is that their corresponding violations are not black and white. For example, a facemask penalty is easily definable; the offender either grabs another player’s facemask or he doesn’t.
Hits on defenseless players aren’t so clear-cut, since “defenseless” is a relatively subjective term. When a defender gets ready to hit a receiver coming across the middle, the receiver might reach and miss the ball a split-second before the defender arrives. That defender cannot be expected to change his course of action within an impossibly small time frame.
Furthermore, many of these calls are at the referee’s discretion. Defensive players are often found guilty of “impermissible use of the helmet” penalties and fines for hitting a running back head-on. This is an especially serious problem, since many times the defender’s helmet is placed properly; the running back lowers his helmet to strive for a few more yards, yet his team gets a 15-yard advantage for the “penalty”.
Fines are levied if the league reviews a play and finds that an athlete is violating their safety rules. Most players find Goodell's paycheck cleaver unjust, and none seem determined to change the way they play.
I think the thing is, you definitely respect them trying to protect players' safety, but at the same time, it won't change the way I play in this league, no matter what the fine is," Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis told the Baltimore Sun after he received a $20,000 fine. "If the receiver has the ball, it's your job to disengage him from the ball."
The problem at hand is that Goodell et al want to stave off any criticism from those who believe football is dangerous by dispensing annoying (but not livelihood-threatening) punishments. Football can be hazardous, but NFL players aren't held in the league against their will. The game is high-risk with vast rewards, and every last athlete understands the tradeoff.
Slapping fines on players won't do anything but anger them further. Either make serious, sport-altering rule changes -- which would most likely hurt football's popularity -- or let the game be played the way it was before Goodell arrived as commissioner. The NFL is a big business with willing participants. Like any healthy corporate environment, there shouldn't be any grey areas.
Fines are levied if the league reviews a play and finds that an athlete is violating their safety rules. Most players find Goodell's paycheck cleaver unjust, and none seem determined to change the way they play.
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| Above: Ray Lewis says his $20,000 fine won't affect how he plays football. |
The problem at hand is that Goodell et al want to stave off any criticism from those who believe football is dangerous by dispensing annoying (but not livelihood-threatening) punishments. Football can be hazardous, but NFL players aren't held in the league against their will. The game is high-risk with vast rewards, and every last athlete understands the tradeoff.
Slapping fines on players won't do anything but anger them further. Either make serious, sport-altering rule changes -- which would most likely hurt football's popularity -- or let the game be played the way it was before Goodell arrived as commissioner. The NFL is a big business with willing participants. Like any healthy corporate environment, there shouldn't be any grey areas.
