Tim Keown, ESPN, September 18, 2014
Roger Goodell has disappeared. In the NFL’s hour of greatest need, its leader has decided to remain silent and invisible. Poof! Vanished. For more than a week, as pictures emerge and indictments are filed and news conferences collapse under the weight of doublespeak and obfuscation, Goodell has sealed himself away from the mounting pile of rubble.
Where is he, and why? Is the commissioner himself on the NFL exempt/commissioner’s permission list? His retreat from the public realm gives the impression of a boss who is not only inaccessible, but incapable. This isn’t going away soon.
New York crisis management expert Davia Temin says she would tell Goodell this: The league must use its reach and influence to devote itself to the issue of domestic violence, including child abuse. It should mandate its players and team employees to complete the strictest and most comprehensive domestic violence training in corporate America. It should buy in wholly and completely, not as a PR stunt. […read more]