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Goodell's big burden is protecting NFL for fans
By CHAREAN WILLIAMS
Star-Telegram staff writer
NEW YORK -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is tired of firsts. With the end of the NFL Draft, he has only one first left.
"First Hall of Fame, and then I think we're done," Goodell said.
Goodell has been busy since taking over for Paul Tagliabue with, among other things, establishing a new code of conduct policy. Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was suspended for the 2007 season, and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry was ordered to sit out half the season as punishment for their off-field transgressions.
Goodell also has established a new media access policy.
The Star-Telegram asked him a few questions during the recent NFL Draft in New York:
Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue helped convince Arlington taxpayers to contribute to the Cowboys' new stadium by promising a Super Bowl. You don't have a vote, but do you see both North Texas and Indianapolis getting a Super Bowl after agreeing to build their teams new stadiums? "They're both candidate cities for getting Super Bowls. That's a decision that ownership makes. Our job is to make sure [they have a shot at Super Bowls] because of the great effort they had to get that stadium. I frankly think the new stadiums make them more attractive as candidate cities. It will be an ownership decision. Our job is to put that forth in the best possible way for the ownership."
What do you think of the Cowboys' new $1 billion stadium? "The last plans I saw were terrific, and [Jerry Jones] is very excited about it. We in the NFL are very excited about it."
Do you have any big worries for the NFL right now? "Yeah, I wake up in the middle of the night a lot. I worry, I think, more about what can go wrong. I think we've got a great product; we have a great game. We have to figure out how to keep it strong and how we can make it stronger. But we have to find out new ways in which we can let our fans experience the NFL. We have to protect the game. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing for me."
Have you put your stamp on the NFL yet? "It's definitely not my NFL. It's the fans' NFL, in my opinion. At the end of the day, that's what we have a responsibility to, and that's the heaviest burden I feel."
You've received positive feedback, for the most part, on your new code of conduct policy and your decisions to suspend Pacman Jones and Chris Henry. With more than 50 arrests in a little more than a year, is it something you felt you had to do? "It's something we think is very important to the league. The league is held to a higher standard, and these things have a very negative impact on us. We're going to try to be very aggressive, but there is a perception that we're going to act on the first incident [for a player], and we aren't always. It will be open to some interpretation."
The international market is important to you. You played a regular-season game in Mexico City and now you're playing in London this season. Could we see more of that in the future? "The one negative is it takes away a home game here. The question we're faced with is: How do you create more inventory? We could take a 17th week, cut the preseason and play an international game the extra week. That way fans still are getting the same number of games in their market. That's been discussed, and we're chewing on that a little bit."
You also mentioned playing the Super Bowl outside the U.S. in London, Mexico City or Toronto. Really? "The Super Bowl is truly a global event. It's perfectly reasonable to look at at some point in the future. The earliest it can happen is 2012."
cjwilliams@star-telegram.com
Charean Williams, 817-390-7760
By CHAREAN WILLIAMS
Star-Telegram staff writer
NEW YORK -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is tired of firsts. With the end of the NFL Draft, he has only one first left.
"First Hall of Fame, and then I think we're done," Goodell said.
Goodell has been busy since taking over for Paul Tagliabue with, among other things, establishing a new code of conduct policy. Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was suspended for the 2007 season, and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry was ordered to sit out half the season as punishment for their off-field transgressions.
Goodell also has established a new media access policy.
The Star-Telegram asked him a few questions during the recent NFL Draft in New York:
Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue helped convince Arlington taxpayers to contribute to the Cowboys' new stadium by promising a Super Bowl. You don't have a vote, but do you see both North Texas and Indianapolis getting a Super Bowl after agreeing to build their teams new stadiums? "They're both candidate cities for getting Super Bowls. That's a decision that ownership makes. Our job is to make sure [they have a shot at Super Bowls] because of the great effort they had to get that stadium. I frankly think the new stadiums make them more attractive as candidate cities. It will be an ownership decision. Our job is to put that forth in the best possible way for the ownership."
What do you think of the Cowboys' new $1 billion stadium? "The last plans I saw were terrific, and [Jerry Jones] is very excited about it. We in the NFL are very excited about it."
Do you have any big worries for the NFL right now? "Yeah, I wake up in the middle of the night a lot. I worry, I think, more about what can go wrong. I think we've got a great product; we have a great game. We have to figure out how to keep it strong and how we can make it stronger. But we have to find out new ways in which we can let our fans experience the NFL. We have to protect the game. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing for me."
Have you put your stamp on the NFL yet? "It's definitely not my NFL. It's the fans' NFL, in my opinion. At the end of the day, that's what we have a responsibility to, and that's the heaviest burden I feel."
You've received positive feedback, for the most part, on your new code of conduct policy and your decisions to suspend Pacman Jones and Chris Henry. With more than 50 arrests in a little more than a year, is it something you felt you had to do? "It's something we think is very important to the league. The league is held to a higher standard, and these things have a very negative impact on us. We're going to try to be very aggressive, but there is a perception that we're going to act on the first incident [for a player], and we aren't always. It will be open to some interpretation."
The international market is important to you. You played a regular-season game in Mexico City and now you're playing in London this season. Could we see more of that in the future? "The one negative is it takes away a home game here. The question we're faced with is: How do you create more inventory? We could take a 17th week, cut the preseason and play an international game the extra week. That way fans still are getting the same number of games in their market. That's been discussed, and we're chewing on that a little bit."
You also mentioned playing the Super Bowl outside the U.S. in London, Mexico City or Toronto. Really? "The Super Bowl is truly a global event. It's perfectly reasonable to look at at some point in the future. The earliest it can happen is 2012."
cjwilliams@star-telegram.com
Charean Williams, 817-390-7760