NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted Friday night the NFL was wrong in ostracizing players who opted to kneel during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the fall of 2016.
This issue had quieted down over the past four years but came back to life in the aftermath of the senseless murder of George Floyd.
Roger Goodell is the son the late Charles Goodell, a moderate Republican who was appointed US Senator from New York following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and held that post until the end of 1970 when he was defeated by James Buckley.
Goodell is showing the bloodlines of a smart politician by realizing the winds have quickly shifted and he wants to quell a certain controversy before the start of the 2020 season whenever that may be.
He realizes he’ll have to make amends to quarterback Colin Kaepernick who has been out of the NFL since the end of the 2016 season with most assuming it was because he started the anthem-kneeling. The league would be wise to settle with Kaepernick on the compensation he lost and offer him a job in the front office for an NFL franchise if not in its NYC headquarters assuming he can’t find one as a QB for a team.
New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees may have forced Goodell to make his statement Friday night because two days earlier he ignited a firestorm by saying that he would never agree with anyone disrespecting the flag of the United States of America which appeared to be code for kneeling.
Brees is certainly entitled to his opinion but his timing sure seemed tone deaf in light of what was going on in our nation last week as well as the fact 75% of NFL players are people of color.
After his playing career ends Brees is slated to join the broadcast booth of the highest rated weekly fall program, “NBC Sunday Night Football.” I have a feeling NBC Sports CEO Mark Lazarus must have been popping Rolaids after learning of Brees’ statement and quickly placed a phone call to him. Brees tearfully apologized the next day for appearing insensitive.
The Athletic is a sports website which launched four years ago. At the time of its founding CEO Alex Mather promised that it would survive solely on paid subscriptions and would accept no advertising. Mather also vowed to send newspapers to the graveyard.
He spent big bucks on some big name scribes and hired a lot of writers. I can’t see how Mather’s enterprise can ever have a positive P&L financial statement.
Sure enough last week The Athletic announced it had laid off 46 writers and implemented pay cuts across the board.
COVID-19 may not have been the only reason for this retrenchment.
Shopping for a Father’s Day gift is obviously a challenge this year with so many brick-and-mortar retailers closed because of the pandemic. Here are a couple of ideas for gifts for dad.
Tavour (tavour.com) is a monthly craft beer subscription gift box service that lets you select cans from the top microbreweries across the USA. The beers range from traditional lagers to fruit flavored varieties for the more adventurous.
Swiftwick (swiftwick.com) is a leading manufacturer of compression socks which increase the blood flow in the leg and reduce cramping. Swiftwick Pursuit Business socks are ideal for those taking long flights while its Flite XT socks are designed for golfers playing 18 holes.