The integrity of the NFL is in shambles right now. I REPEAT! THE INTEGRITY OF THE NFL IS IN SHAMBLES RIGHT NOW!
One would think that recently socially ostracized players like Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson would be taking the brunt of this newfound disdain towards the National Football League, but alas, someone else is. And as most of you readers know, it’s none other than head honcho Roger Goodell.
Now, it’s obvious to point fingers at Goodell’s mishandling of proper punishment for those aforementioned players within the past few months as to why his approval rating has sunk lower than President Obama’s. But is this whole domestic violence issue really the commissioner’s fault?
The easy answer to give is yes. I am sure most of us, if not all, have said, “If Goodell had just nipped these issues in the bud right when they happened, all of this drama could have been avoided. If he didn’t try to sweep the Ray Rice video under the carpet and had punished him correctly, a proper domestic violence protocol could have been put into play. Why does Roger give such harsh punishment for silly violations and lax punishment for serious ones?”
Blah, blah, blah. The list goes on and on.
But enough about Goodell. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that even before he took over the position back in 2006, there were a lot of underlying problems within the NFL that should have been fixed a long time ago by past commissioners. I’m also going to go out on another limb and say that even though its integrity sucks right now, the NFL is going to reestablish the strong and powerful image it once had. Because that’s just how things work in professional sports.
Before I do that, let’s take a look at another professional sports league that faced some image problems just a few years ago. Anyone remember the steroids scandals that ran rampant through the MLB? Jose Canseco and his lovely memoir, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, told the story of his frequent anabolic steroid use and the players he used with. Canseco claimed that 85 percent of the MLB was using during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. He threw many big name players under the bus, including Mark McGuire, Jason Giambi, Ivan Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro…to name a few.
Any of this ringing a bell? I know it was all the way back in 2005, but this changed things for the MLB. Bud Selig, who has been commissioner of the MLB since 1992, had to deal with this mess and all of the world-wide attention it brought with it.
There were investigations by the federal government and a public outcry against not only the accused players, but Selig as well. People were absolutely furious. The players that they worshipped, ones they looked up to and let their kids aspire to be had betrayed them. And all of this had happened under Selig’s nose. The integrity of the MLB quite literally fell into pieces and people gave up on not only the league, but on the commissioner as well.
But that all went away with time. Selig did what he needed to do to lead investigations and punish players who used. It may not have been up to the standards of the fans, but he did the best he could. And when the Biogenesis baseball scandal of 2013 happened, the public outcry was not nearly as loud as it was all the way back in 2005. And because of the 2005 ‘roids scandal, the MLB had proper rules and regulations that spelled out what needed to be done to those who were caught red-handed.
While the integrity of baseball may NOT be back to one hundred percent, I think it’s safe to say that it looks a lot better than it did when that scandal first broke.
And here’s where the NFL comes in. There have been many scandals that have happened to professional football players throughout the existence of the National Football League. More recent events like Spygate, Michael Vick and his love of fighting dogs for profit, and Bountygate are just a few instances in which negative attention was bought upon the league. It was also brought upon the commissioner who ran the league at the time, which just so happens to be Goodell. Just as it was with the MLB, fans were angry and wanted an answer. They wanted somewhere to place the blame. Goodell became the Bud Selig of professional football after all these events took place.
Which is exactly how it is right now. But just as those scandals passed and consequences were passed down upon the people involved, so will the domestic violence issue of 2014. Rules will be made so that when this happens again, the cycle can continue. The NFL was knocked off its pedestal, but it will climb right back up again…rising to the top. And it will do just as Major League Baseball did, with the embattled commissioner at the helm.
Roger Goodell isn’t going anywhere, so I think it’s about time we cut him some slack and get back to rooting for da Bears.
Torie Bolster
Sports Editor