To say the National Football League has had a bad couple of weeks would be an understatement. Well-chronicled over the last decade, and even longer in some respects, are the many off field-incidents involving members of a sport that has emerged as America's favorite form of entertainment. Whether it be a murder/suicide, a strip club assault, drug possession charges, dog fighting or carrying of an illegal firearm, it seems that you never know from one week to the next what poor/criminal conduct will be committed by an individual representing the NFL.
As the 2014 NFL season "kicks off," the regularity and severity of off-field incidents is holding true to form with one slight yet disturbing twist. In the past most if not every troubling situation has involved some typical thug/athlete behaving in some typical thug way. With each new incident we became aware of, most of us simply shook our heads in a tone of "yeah, so what's new," and then proceeded to watch the saga play out with Commissioner Roger Goodell handling the less than flattering case like a top-tier CEO, methodically assessing the facts and then levying the punishment as he sees fit, while trying to protect his league and the player involved as much as possible from the court of public opinion.
I've always been impressed with Commissioner Goodell and the way he has handled some extremely flammable scenarios. Possessing firsthand knowledge regarding the function/dysfunction within the commissioner's office of Major League Baseball, I've witnessed time and time again how a commissioner should NOT handle certain events. Coming from the perspective of a Major League Baseball alum I've always been somewhat envious of the NFL and what a firm competent handle Goodell has always seemed to possess.
This past week, however, a lot has changed for the NFL and, more specifically, Roger Goodell. The normally no-nonsense, evenhanded general of the league now finds himself squarely in the cross-hairs of some rather strong accusations that if proven true are going to be a major problem. Yet while I watch the stinky layers of this onion involving Ray Rice and Roger Goodell continue to unfold, I find myself even more impressed with how the NFL handles its off-field business than ever before – and here's why.
Undoubtedly, being the top brass of an organization like the National Football League is going to create a lot of friends and allies while also conjuring up a number of detractors and critics. That's simply the way it is when you're the boss. Yet it only took two days after accusations were raised regarding Goodell's knowledge or lack thereof related to the incriminating video of Ray Rice knocking his wife unconscious in an Atlantic City casino elevator before the NFL commissioner's detractors and supporters were calling for an independent investigation as to what he knew or did not know concerning the video.
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It took no more than 48 hours before supporters and critics alike were speaking in unison, putting their differences of opinion aside and selecting former FBI head Robert Mueller to conduct an independent investigation into the accusations of Goodell. Now, some will say that Mueller is not "independent" enough, and maybe so, but for this argument those claims are irrelevant. The relevancy lies in the fact that it took no more than two days to launch an investigation headed up by a man with significant credentials who was selected by individuals that were able to put their opinions of Goodell aside and make a decision to try and preserve the overall integrity of the league.
So my question to you now is: "Why can't our federal government operate with the same efficiency?" Why can't elected members of our "democratic state" who are appointed by We the People to conduct a job on our behalf cross the aisle, put aside their different points of view and act in a proper fashion to preserve the integrity of our country and the government when questionable situations and behavior arise? Why are we two years down the road on events such as the IRS scandal and Benghazi and we don't know much more regarding the guilt or innocence of the prominent players than we did on day two?
Why do I watch congressional hearings attempting to discover why an entire year's worth of Lois Lerner's emails have "coincidentally" disappeared, yet all I witness is a verbal fist fight between Isaiah Cummings and Darrel Issa? Instead, I should be observing two elected officials working on my behalf to figure out exactly what did happen. Is there a chance it may happen again, and what other improprieties may be occurring? Why do I watch congressional hearings involving Hillary Clinton, who may in the very near future be responsible for making decisions that will directly affect us all and who may have also committed a monumental blunder in foreign policy, callously argue with a House Foreign Affairs Committee member and crudely retort, "What difference does it make?"
Although these investigations have moved forward to some degree, it certainly has not been because opposing politicians have linked arms to make it happen. If not for third-party organizations like the ACLJ or Judicial Watch, the American people may never know the truth (and we still may not) and then be able to cast our vote or lobby our politicians based on whatever facts were uncovered.
I know the NFL has its issues, and I'm quite certain we will witness many more acts of despicable behavior in the coming years by some of the fine gentlemen that call themselves NFL players, but the league did show me something this week. Whether you're one of the 1,600-plus players who put a helmet on each and every Sunday or you're the man that's overseeing it all, no one is above the law. As trivial as football is in the great scheme of things, the biased members of our federal government should take a page out of the NFL's playbook when it comes to addressing the potentially life-altering situations they deal with on a daily basis. Many times the integrity of the country depends on the decisions our politicians make. It should only be reasonable, therefore, to expect that they possess greater integrity when making them.
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