Roger Goodell Must Be Fired

On February 15th, 2014, ex-Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was seen assaulting his wife on camera in a Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  His left hook left her unconscious, and he is seen dragging her body out of the elevator in order to avoid detection.  On July 24th, 2014, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decided to suspend Rice for 2 games.  To put this in perspective, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon was suspended for an entire season (16 games) for failing a drug test (later reduced).  It is absolutely ridiculous that Rice was only initially suspended for 2 games.

People were very angry at Goodell, but the story took a turn for the worse when TMZ released the actual video footage on September 8, 2014 - seven months after the incident occurred.  If TMZ could get their hands on the video footage, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Goodell saw the footage prior to making the decision to suspend Rice.  How can assaulting a woman only warrant a 2 game suspension?  After the TMZ video came out, the Baltimore Ravens released Ray Rice and he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL.  However, Commissioner Goodell was only doing this to 'save face,' as he knew he was already in hot water and the footage being released was only going to make things worse.

Roger Goodell makes $30 million each year.  He is the face of one of the biggest leagues in the entire world - for now.  But no man who makes a decision like Goodell did in response to the Ray Rice incident deserves to keep his job, especially considering how much money he makes.  It is time to fire Roger Goodell, or to force him to resign.  His reign as NFL Commissioner needs to end!

Blogger Roundtable: NFL in London?

Will the NFL Have a London-based franchise by the end of the decade (2020)?  We gave our thoughts, so now it's your turn.  Answer our poll at the top of the blog and then leave a comment at the bottom of this post explaining why. 

In last week's edition of Blogger Roundtable, our newest Sports Business Society bloggers argued over who was the best commissioner in sports.  Two of the panelists chose Roger Goodell, citing among other factors, the National Football League's success in international markets (particularly London). 

Then on the September 17, SBS Skyped with alumnus Hussain Naqi, SVP of  Fan Engagement for the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Naqi has been charged with marketing and branding the team in the UK.  Naqi was able to provide a great deal of incite into the potential NFL market, although he dismissed the possibility of his Jaguars making a permanent move across the Atlantic.


And now the possibility of a London-based franchise has received more media attention than ever before.  ESPN has launched a series of articles on the issue, including Greg Garber's "More Than Just A Nice Place To Visit".  Here's what Garber had to say:

The good news for the skeptics? Players, coaches and staff of the four teams get to jump on a plane afterward and return home. But what if they didn't? What if there were a franchise in London? What financial, logistical and competitive challenges would have to be overcome?  

It's time to start asking these questions, folks, because it's going to happen. Yes, with some serious thrust from commissioner Roger Goodell and a league with a powerful hunger to increase its revenue streams, it's quite likely there soon will be an NFL team in London.

In a separate piece on ESPN, Kristi Dosh examines a variety of legal concerns that arise from a full-time London team.  Tax laws, working visas, as well as competition and free movement labor laws could get in the way of the desires of the NFL's business and marketing brass.

But could legal or other logistical challenges (such as travel) really get in the way of the most powerful sports league in the history of the world?  Or will Roger Goodell and the NFL break down any barriers that stand in the way of their expansionary goals?  That was the question we asked our bloggers and E-Board members this time around:

Will the NFL have a London-based franchise by the end of the decade (2020)?

Adam Malz (Featured Blogger)- Yes

 Yes, I believe that the by the end of the decade an NFL franchise will call London home. This is going to happen eventually, regardless of whether fans or players think it is right. Owners and the League are pushing for it because of the fact that it opens up a brand new and tremendously large area of revenue, as the domestic market is peaking. There are still a lot of obstacles and kinks that will need to be worked out, which is why I’m thinking towards the end of the decade. But I think it is certainly in our near future.

Gabe Cassillo (SBS VP of Magazine)- NO

While the NFL has the ambition and no doubt the resources to make a move to the UK happen (eventually) I think it highly unlikely such a move would take place by the end of this decade. Fans often cite fairly trivial "issues" that would impact such a move. Travel, time differences, culture, lack of fan base, etc. In reality, the time frame seems too aggressive. For a league experiencing continual growth, I question whether the 32 owners would be in favor of taking the risk by adding a team based in London. If I was a betting man, yes, I agree that one day the NFL will have teams overseas. Do I think that day will be by 2020? Not at all.

John Zakour (Featured Blogger)- Yes

In both articles, Garber and Dosh discuss a litany of problems that an NFL team in London would face. Tax codes, food, jet lag, logistical issues, would all have to be ironed out. But they're just minor issues. If Goodell wills a NFL team in London, it will be so. Roger Goodell won't let these triflings stop him from realizing his dream of a truly international, intercontinental NFL. It wouldn't surprise me if we have a foreign Super Bowl in the near future, which would precede a London team. Goodell wants this, against all reason, and he will find a way to make it happen.

Jon Levitan (Featured Blogger)- Yes

The NFL will eventually put a team in London. The league almost always gets what it wants, and clearly wants to have a team.  With two games being played there this year, the only question is when a team will eventually be placed across the pond. I would say that a team will be there by 2020, and I would also guess that that team will be the Jaguars. The market of Jacksonville just isn’t big enough to support a franchise that isn’t firmly entrenched there. That much is already clear, by the fact that the Jags will play a game in London for the next four years, which will be far more lucrative for them than their normal home games. By the end of those four years, the team may very well have a solid following overseas, and hopefully a better product to put on display. Although the league may want to place an expansion team London, as Garber’s article showed, I think the Jaguars will lobby heavily to be relocated.

Jesse Sherman (SBS Director of  Operations) - NO

Word on the street is that an NFL team in London is imminent. We've seen some successful trips to Wembley in the past few years. But that being said, I don't see a London-based franchise emerging before 2020. The current NFL CBA runs through 2020 and some labor laws between the US and London differ significantly enough to raise doubt in my mind. I don't think it will happen.. yet.

Matthew Hakimian (Featured Blogger)- Yes

One of Roger Goodell's main priorities since he came into power as the commissioner in 2006 has been to innovate the National Football League in all facets of the game, both on and off the field. We all know that he is one of the main proponents of an NFL team permanently relocating to London and it's looking more plausible each year. The most likely team to move to the UK would have to be the Jacksonville Jaguars as the team is scheduled to be featured in a game overseas through the 2016 season.  With one of the league's lowest fan bases, and faced with yearly difficulties with local television blackouts, it makes way too much sense to move the struggling Jags to London.

Will the NFL Have a London-based franchise by the end of the decade (2020)?  We gave our thoughts, so now it's your turn.  Answer our poll at the top of the blog and then leave a comment at the bottom of this post explaining why. 

Blogger Roundtable: The Best Commissioner in Sports

For the first Blogger Roundtable event of the semester, we asked some of our newest Sports Business Society bloggers the big question.  Who do they think is the"best" commissioner in sports today.  It was up to them to decide what "best" meant, and they came up with a variety of choices and explanations (along with one notable omission).

Read what they had to say after the jump:


Kevin Cole (CALS '15)- Roger Goodell, NFL

It is hardly uncommon to hear a negative sentiment about one of the commissioners of the four major pro sports leagues in America. Whether it is a function of media portrayal, individual personalities, the nature of the position, or some combination of factors, David Stern, Gary Bettman, Bud Selig, and Roger Goodell descriptions more often touch on words like 'arrogant', 'out of touch', or 'despot', than they do 'likeable'. However, setting popularity aside, the success that each has experienced with their respective league varies quite a lot- And in terms of league popularity, it's hard to argue with the job that Goodell has done for the NFL. 



Courtesy of www.businessinsider.com.

When Goodell began his reign atop the NFL in 2006, the league had already long been the standard for American professional sports. During his tenure, the NFL has remained at the top in the U.S., while furthering it's brand internationally. The global success is reflected by the influx of non-American NFL players (Ziggy Ansah, Margus Hunt, and Bjoern Werner all were taken in the first two rounds of this year's draft), games played on foreign soil (London, Toronto), foreign fan clubs, and the international coverage of the Super Bowl. 

 Goodell's rule has not been controversy free, however. His practice of being judge and jury for NFL suspensions and fines, along with the crackdown on excessive celebrations have been instrumental in earning the "No Fun League" moniker and simultaneously paint Goodell as a dictator. Needless to say, the replacement referees were nothing short of a disaster. However, while he has displayed iron-fisted tendencies, Goodell's has been relatively even with his punishments. His strict penalties not only hit players, but have extended to front offices and owners who have attempted to skirt the league's salary cap rules (see Redskins, Washington and Cowboys, Dallas, 2010). In summation, Goodell has held organizations, players, and coaches accountable for their actions under rules that he considers to be fair and just.

Matthew Hakimian (ILR '17)- Roger Goodell, NFL

Since taking the reins from longtime commissioner Paul Tagliabue in 2006, Roger Goodell has stood head and shoulders above every major American sports commissioner in large part due to his steadfast ways and persistent actions.   Various issues have arisen thus far throughout Goodell’s tenure that he has handled fairly well. Prior to the 2011 season, against all odds, Goodell remained cool in the face of pressure and was able to help orchestrate a deal between the NFL team owners and the NFL Player’s Association which saw the establishment of a new collective bargaining agreement, and effectively avoided any missed regular season game in which each team would have certainly lost its fair share of revenue.

Moreover, Goodells has been a major supporter of player safety, which can be seen by the disciplinary actions he has handed down. Whether its through weekly fines to players such as Ndamukong Suh or James Harrison for illegal hits, or dropping down steep penalties on an entire organization such as the New Orleans Saints, Goodell has made a firm effort to protect the welfare of the players. More recently, the National Football League was able to strike a $765 million deal with a group of ex-players over concussion-related brain injuries. The agreement certainly could not have been made without the headship of Commissioner Goodell, and it was immediately seen as a big win for the NFL to have finally gotten this situation resolved. Whether it has been through his efforts to relocate an NFL franchise overseas or awarding New York/New Jersey with the first cold weather Super Bowl in 2014, Goodell has continuously sought to innovate his league. 

Sebastian Perez-Vargas (ILR '17)- David Stern, NBA

It's easy to find faults in every commissioner, but that's the benefit of hindsight analysis. Focusing on the positives, though, you have to marvel at what David Stern has done with the game of basketball since his appointment in the mid-1980s. 

Out of all of the American sports, basketball is the one that has globalized to the greatest extent --  to the point that it is the 2nd most popular sport globally. If any sport is going to challenge soccer internationally, it's going to be basketball, and that all started with Stern, MJ, and Nike in the 1980s. It's not just because of MJ, though. Other stars such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are enormous figures around the world. Stern has been at the center of all of this, pushing the game of basketball beyond American borders through marketing and outreach campaigns. 

The effect has been not just American basketball players penetrating international markets, but international players impacting the NBA -- from Yao Ming to Dirk Nowitzki to Manu Ginobili. More generally, the fluid and selfless European style of play has impacted the way basketball in the US is being played. The reigning two-time NBA champions, for example, follow a very European "smallball" style, with no real post presence. The globalization of the game of basketball that has occurred under David Stern has had an impact on the NBA both on and off the court.  

Jon Levitan (ILR '17)- Bud Selig, MLB

Major League Baseball’s Bud Selig is the best commissioner in America sports. Selig is not without his flaws, the 1994 strike, which cancelled the entire postseason and World Series, was disastrous, and he was late to realize the massive PED problem on his hands. Despite these flaws, Selig has done a remarkable job keeping his players happy while at the same time creating a system of incentives that maintains a level of parity, even as teams like the Yankees and Dodgers payrolls’ expand. Baseball’s wage system comes far closer to a true free market than any of the other American sports, and its few restrictions on unhinged capitalism, like the revenue sharing program and the luxury tax, make it possible for poorer teams like the Rays and Athletics to experience consistent success. 

This wage system, which guarantees all contracts and doesn’t restrict their length or cost, allowed MLB to be the only major sport to survive the most recent wave of CBA expirations without a lockout. While his sport doesn’t have the worldwide appeal that basketball does, Major League Baseball is beginning to grow the sport in non-traditional baseball countries like Brazil and Italy, which will allow the talent pool to grow, further increasing the levels of parity in the game. Selig should not be judged on mistakes like his handling of the steroid issue, which caused short-term problems for the game, but rather on his salary system, that simultaneously rewards players fully for their performance, yet also makes it possible for poorer teams to stay competitive with the financial powerhouses.

Well that's what our bloggers think. Do you agree? Did they miss somebody? Leave your comments below and answer the poll at the top of the blog to show us what you think.