You knew this would happen. You just knew it.
Less than a day after Roger Goodell and the NFL had their suspension of Tom Brady overturned by a federal judge, owners are questioning Goodell’s ability to hand out punishment. According to the Washington Post, several NFL owners have discussed “the possibility of changing Commissioner Roger Goodell’s role in the player disciplinary process.”
That appears to be the nice way of saying, “You need stop doing whatever it is you’re doing.”
To be fair, this could also be the ramblings of a few owners friendly with Robert Kraft. So, you know, take it with a grain of salt.
Another person familiar with the league’s inner workings said Friday it is too soon to know whether enough owners favor such a change for the NFL to engage the players’ union in discussions about possible modifications to the disciplinary process. The players union has been pushing for a neutral arbitrator to hear appeals in matters of player discipline, replacing Goodell, who currently occupies that role.
The owners won’t meet again until October, so talk of Goodell’s demise may die down in the next few weeks. That being said, his bungling of the Ray Rice suspension coupled with the insanity of Deflategate may be too much for owners to ignore. It’s clear something needs to change in the process. Goodell wields far too big a stick as judge, jury and executioner.
