This Thursday marks the return of something tens of millions of people have been waiting for: the NFL.
Roger Goodell, and many of the league's brass hope this will take some attention away from a less than ideal summer the league has had. Just a few days ago Tom Brady’s four game suspension over “DeflateGate” was struck down by a court. Throughout the summer numerous players, as always, violated the league’s drug policies. Star players have even blown off fingers with fireworks. The summer has been even worse for football broadly; tragically, as CNN reported this Saturday, a Louisiana high school football player passed away from an injury suffered on the field. It’s incredible that these events seem to be forgotten throughout the NFL season.
The narrative during the football season is starkly different; the story becomes about things such as new talent taking over the game, as was the case with Odell Beckham Jr. last year. Or more broadly, almost all the stories centre around things happening on the field not off it. Ray Rice’s transgressions were effectively forgotten before the halfway point of last season, and it's reported that he may be part of a roster before this season is over. But perhaps this is the year that NFL storylines change, maybe the public will finally hold the league accountable.
This summer has been particularly bad for commissioner Goodell. He’s been in the spotlight for his bizarre disciplinary tendencies, and rightly so. To put things in perspective, prior to there being an official investigation being launched into Rice’s assault case, and prior to the release of information which indicated the NFL had potentially withheld evidence, Rice had a two-game suspension. Conversely, Brady received a four game suspension for likely deflating footballs. Moreover, the arbitration process was unfairly skewed in the league’s favour. Goodell acted as the “independent” arbitrator, in a case where he came up with the original punishment. The conclusion to be drawn here is simple: the NFL’s disciplinary measures aren’t oriented to provide fair and just punishment. They exist to further the agenda of the league; when it was convenient to swipe cases of abuse under the rug, the NFL tried to do it. When it was in the league’s interest to hang Brady out to dry, they did so. Plain and simple, the players are not the priority.
That fact is what makes the next few months even scarier for the NFL. The run into the holiday season -- a time when the NFL traditionally becomes stronger as it plays a big role in many families’ Thanksgivings and Christmases -- has the potential to be catastrophic. This past week, the trailer for Will Smith’s new film, "Concussion," was released. This film details the struggle of Dr. Bennett Omalu as he discovers CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) and tries to bring it to the NFL’s attention. This will only further the narrative that the NFL doesn’t really care about its players. That perspective will reach more people than it ever has before.
In an ideal world, the next several months could radically influence the NFL and cause them to change the way they go about their operations. More realistically, several turbulent months may spell the end of Goodell’s tenure as commissioner. The NFL owners have supported Goodell for the better part of a decade for one simple reason: he’s been able to manage controversy and keep the NFL in the good graces of the media. The last 18 months, however, have seen a reversal in this trend. It seems likely that Goodell is on his way out, and in an attempt to change the progressively worse perception of the NFL, it is incredibly likely that the next commissioner will be one that cares more for the players. If that is indeed the case, while the next few months may be tough for the NFL, the future may be considerably brighter.
