NFL COMMISSIONER ROGER
GOODELL
Super Bowl LI News
Conference
Houston, Texas l February 1, 2017
Opening Statement:
“Good afternoon. On behalf of the NFL,
welcome to Super Bowl 51. We’re happy to be here in Houston and there are
a few ‘Thank Yous’ I would like to start with. To begin, the city of
Houston, Mayor (Sylvester) Turner, the Host Committee, all of the officials
here in Houston, you’ve done an incredible job preparing for this. We’re
excited to be here, and I know you’re going to shine as the Super Bowl week
continues. To (Owner of the Houston Texans) Bob McNair, who I see over
here and his family, and the Texans, we wouldn’t be here without your
leadership. This is a great accomplishment to host the Super Bowl and
it’s a tribute to you, so thank you for that. And to the thousands of
volunteers and this great community in general, you can feel the enthusiasm,
you can feel the way we’re being embraced here in this community and we thank
you for that. We’re even seeing it in the first few days at Super Bowl
Live and the NFL Experience where we’re seeing record numbers, over 250,000
people in the first few days and well on pace to exceed a million people
attending these events. We hope the people of Houston will attend and get
a chance to experience a little bit of the Super Bowl.
“And congratulations to these two incredible
teams, the (New England) Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. Extraordinary
seasons, and we had an incredibly competitive season. In fact, maybe one
of the most competitive seasons in the history of the NFL. By average
margin of victory, it was just slightly over 10 points a game, which is the
lowest since 1935, when I believe we averaged about 24 points versus our 46
now. We also had a record number of games decided within a seven-point
margin. All adding to the excitement of the season. But also, more
and more of a tribute to the two great teams, the Patriots and the Falcons,
that we have in the Super Bowl. They were dominant through the season,
but particularly dominant throughout the postseason, and no one can argue that
these two teams are the most deserving and the ones that should be here.
The number-one defense in the NFL versus the number-one offense. It’s
going to be a great matchup, and I wish both teams well.
“Finally, let me thank our great fans for their
support all year long. They make the difference for us. They’re the
reason why we do what we do, and I know they’re the ones that inspire our
teams. So, thank you for all your support. I’m happy to take your
questions.”
The Raiders started the approval process
to move to Las Vegas, though the latest news seems to put that situation in
peril. Is the NFL confident that Las Vegas remains a viable location for
the Raiders? And after decades of avoiding or opposing gambling, do the owners
and league officials believe that legalized gambling and the NFL can coexist?
“In your first question, we hadn’t made a
determination about Las Vegas as an NFL market. That’s part of the
relocation process. The Raiders submitted an application. It’s one
that we’re considering carefully, but there is a great deal of work to be done
and there are several elements of that. Financing of the stadium is just
one. Obviously, the stadium project itself, the depth of the market, all
of those are things that we’ve studied over the last several months, but that
will increase in intensity over the next month or so as we move forward in that
process. A second, as it relates to whether gambling can coexist with the
NFL. In fact, it does. It’s happening today. It’s sponsored
by governments. It exists throughout our world. What we have always
said is we need to make sure that there’s a fine line between team-sports
gambling and the NFL. We want to protect the integrity of our game, and
that’s the line we will always do.”
You offered President [George H.W.] Bush
a chance to toss the coin; has he accepted?
“Yes, President Bush 41, and Mrs. Bush. I
approached them in December, and they were very enthusiastic about wanting to
participate. We’re honored to have them. Obviously, you all know
that both of them have had a little bit a setback health-wise recently, but
I’ve heard from both of them and they’re excited and anxious to be here.
As I said, we’re honored to have them. It’s going to be a great way to
start the game.”
Last summer, Texans’ Owner Bob McNair
said of Deflategate, we all have allowed it to become a mountain out of a
molehill, and last week, Robert Kraft said to Peter King that you got bad
advice from people around you, and the league didn’t handle it well. What
is your reaction to those comments, and in hindsight, do you think you got bad
advice about how you handled Deflategate?
“No, we had a violation. We went through
a process. We applied the discipline in accordance with our process. It
was litigated as you know, extensively, and validated by the Second Circuit
Court of Appeals. So, we’re moving on from that. That’s part of our
history, but it’s something that we’re comfortable with the process, the
decision, and as I said, we’re focusing on the game now.”
After the great success that the NFL had
this season in the game in Mexico City between the Raiders and the Houston
Texans, will the NFL go back next season to Mexico?
“Yes. We had a great experience last
year. The Texans and the Raiders, we couldn’t have asked for a better
reception from our fans in Mexico. We always envisioned that it would be
more than a one-year commitment. We’re going to come back next
season. The Raiders and the Patriots will be playing there next season.”
For the past 20 years, I've asked the
question, ‘When will Los Angeles be getting an NFL team?’ And now, I'm tempted
to ask, ‘When will Los Angeles stop getting NFL teams?’ Just following on
Barry’s question, though, you detailed the process in the coming weeks about
evaluating the Las Vegas market. Are you confident that you can complete
that evaluation in time for the vote in the March meetings, and I’d also ask,
if Las Vegas were to fall through, could San Diego be the viable option for the
Raiders?
“Well, a couple things. One, we are
confident that our process is thorough, that it will examine all of the issues
that need to be examined to make the best possible decision from the
ownership. If for some reason, we can’t complete that by March, we’ll
deal with that, but the ultimate objective here is to the make the right
decision. I’ve said it many times before, relocations are painful, and
you want to be intelligent, you want to be thorough and you want to make sure
that we do it with a great deal of sensitivity. We want to make sure that
we’re doing what’s in the best, long-term interest of the NFL. So, we
will see on timing, but we have been working on this over the last couple
months, analyzing this, but we have now more information, and we’ll have to get
more information to go forward. The second part of your question, just so
I’m clear? (Reporter: San Diego.) San Diego. Listen, and I’ve made
this clear before, we were disappointed to have to leave San Diego. We
couldn’t get a stadium done. As you know, we had a referendum just last
November that did not pass by the voters, and I think for any team to relocate
to San Diego at this point in time, we’re going to have to find a solution to
that stadium problem, one that we couldn’t do after probably 15 years of
effort. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future. In fact,
there is a history of markets that get these projects done once a team
leaves. That’s unfortunate, because I think it’s a painful way to do it,
but this is something that we obviously would work toward, but we’re moving
forward at this point.”
You noted and said several times
relocation is a painful process. I think you said a couple weeks ago in
Ingelwood that we’re all hurting over the Chargers leaving us. I’m hoping
you could reconcile that with how enticing you made it for the Chargers to go
to Los Angeles. The owners, a year ago, made it pretty easy.
Is there anything the NFL can do better to have prevent the Chargers from
leaving, or any other team?
When you say we made it enticing for them to
move to Los Angeles, I would actually argue the exact opposite. The NFL
owners did something that was unprecedented, which they gave another $100
million on top of the $200 million, so a total of $300 million, to help build
the stadium in San Diego. That had never been done before, never been
offered before. So, I think we worked very hard as a membership and as a
league, and as Dean Spanos and his family in San Diego, to try to get that
done, to try to be creative and try to learn solutions to getting the stadium
built. So, obviously, when we made our decision on the Rams relocating
back to Los Angeles last year, the Chargers made the decision, despite having
the option to move to Los Angeles, to say, ‘We want to stay one more
year. We want to try to make this work. Let’s give this another
shot.’ The referendum failed. There were a lot of other efforts in
addition to that, but that’s disappointing for all of us, because we didn’t get
it done. The answer to whether we can do things better and different –
absolutely, always. We will always strive to do that, and if there is a
better way we can accomplish these, but as you know, this is not a new
issue. This isn’t something that came up a year ago or three years ago or
five years ago. This is probably 15 years of an inability to get a
stadium done, and we will all take a share of responsibility of that.”
You recently said on a national radio
show that if the Raiders move was approved by owners, you would not compromise
any of the League’s values. Were you referencing gambling and would you
or the ownership be opposed to a casino having partial or full ownership either
in a team or a stadium?
“We’ve always said we are going to maintain the
integrity of our game by making sure there is a separation between sports,
gambling and the NFL. That is something we think is imperative for
us. We want our fans to know the game they are seeing unfold on the field
does not have any undue influence. We recognize gambling occurs out in
marketplaces. I said that in the first answer. But this is
something from our standpoint we have rules that are in place. The Raiders
have not asked for us to compromise those rules as it relates to our
policies. We will continue to have that separation going forward. I
don’t see an ownership position in a team from a casino. That is not
something consistent with our policies. Not likely a stadium either.”
Tom Brady Sr. was highly critical and
was personally insulted by you in the last week. You have not been in
Foxboro in the past two years since the Deflategate investigation. Your
explanation strains all credibility that you needed to be in Atlanta two weeks
in a row. It appears that you were avoiding Foxboro. The Patriots
are here in this game. Back home, it feels like there is still a war
between the Patriots, their fans and you. How would you characterize this
situation and is it not awkward?
“I would tell you that it is not awkward at all
for me. We have a job to do. We do our job, as I said, there was a
violation. We applied a process and discipline, and we came to a
conclusion that was supported by the facts and by the courts. So from our
standpoint, we understand when fans who are loyal and passionate for a team
object and don’t like the outcome, I totally understand that. That’s not
an issue for me. I was in Boston two seasons ago for two consecutive
playoff games, the same way I was in Atlanta this year. So that
happens. From our standpoint, this is just about making sure that we take
care of business and do it the way that is right to uphold the integrity of our
teams and our rules for all 32 teams. If I am invited back to Foxboro, I
will come.”
The union has said it is preparing a
proposal that would take a less punitive approach to recreational marijuana use
by players, obviously you made some steps in the drug policies with regard to
marijuana use in 2014, but also the league stance has sometimes been tied to
the federal prohibition and also waiting for more advice from the medical
advisors, are you willing to take meaningful steps if the Union does propose
that?
“As you point out, they haven’t made a proposal.
We certainly haven’t seen it. I read it in the paper also and I’ve spoken
to (Executive Director of the National Football League Players Association
DeMaurice Smith) about it. But I think what it’s signaling, from our
standpoint, is that the labor agreement we have has worked incredibly well for
the players, for our clubs and for I think the game in general. It’s
encouraged investment. We see the salary cap, which may be projected to
increase by $15 million a club, in the last four years alone, the salary cap
has jumped almost $1.7 billion including benefits. That’s extraordinary
and historically has never come close to being achieved before. So what we have
is a labor agreement that is working well for all parties. But we sent
the union last spring, several pages or lists of issues that we wanted to
address as the league and as ownership and I expect – and we put on that list
drug policy as one of those issues – so we would love to engage, but I think
what we’re seeing is a reason why we should all sit down and get at the table,
begin negotiations so that if we want to reach a different policy on either the
drug policy or any other matter, we can all begin that earlier and do it in a
way that’s responsible.”
One quick fact check, the courts didn’t
uphold the investigation. It upheld your right to go ahead and do what
you did –
“If you look at the Second Circuit Court, the
decision that they set, they said there are compelling, if not overwhelming,
facts here and that’s the point that I just made.”
From prominent players within the
league, to fan bases in San Diego, St. Louis, New England, to the media, there
seems to be an erosion of public trust in you and your office, do you
acknowledge that and is there any way you would go about repairing that if you
would even seek to do so?
“The thing that you have to always do every day
is earn that trust, earn that credibility and it’s by how you act and how you
do things. Be transparent, making sure people understand the decisions
you make. I don’t expect for one second for people to agree with every
decision I make or we make as a league. Those are always difficult,
sometimes contentious, and sometimes less than perfect decisions, but you do
them in the best interest of long-term health of the game and the NFL and I
think we do that. We always seek to do things better, I will always seek
to do things better and that’s how we’ll continue to operate and if we can do
if differently, we’ll do it differently.”
The NFL sponsors the ‘Fuel Up to Play
60’ program – thanks for that by the way – what plans does the NFL have to
continue promoting and supporting health and wellness in the next generation?
“You and I talked about this in Kansas City a
few weeks ago. I’m a father of twin daughters who are just a little bit
older than you – they’re 15 – we believe very much in having our kids be active
and healthy and to live a healthy lifestyle, and the Play 60 program was our
way along with the players, our clubs and the league to make sure we encourage
that in our communities and our schools. And so the leadership that
you’re providing in your school and others are doing I think leads to a better
generation. A generation that thinks better, achieves higher levels of
success and frankly lives a higher quality of life. So for us, we’re not
going to relent on that. We think it’s something that is authentic to who
we are and what we do.”
Last year here you expressed continued
concerns about the Titans ownership structure. Jerry Jones and John Mara
have both said that they have no such concerns. Does the league continue
to have an issue? What is it specifically? Amy Adams Strunk has been in control
for nearly two years now – when can we expect the team and the league to
resolve it?
“The issue that we’ve had over the last couple
of years was a designation of who was going to represent the club. That
has changed to some extent over the last couple of years. The fundamental
aspect of our policy is to make sure that we have an individual who has the ultimate
authority over that franchise and can make those decisions, including
league-level decisions as well as locally, and it’s clear. It’s clear to
the ownership group and it’s also clear to the membership, so that is the issue
that the committee has been addressing. They have been in violation in
the past. I am hopeful that we’re getting to the point where that is
going to be resolved once and for all.”
Have they been fined a second time?
“They have not been fined a second time.
They were fined once.”
(Inaudible follow-up question on Titans
ownership)
“That’s for the ownership to tell us is that
they have full control. It is not for the membership to determine
that. It’s the membership and the committees to determine have they taken
the necessary steps where she has full control.”
There seemed to be a national discussion
this year on falling ratings, some tied to the election obviously, some
not. I noticed, late in the season, there were some changes to broadcast,
in game commercials for instance – what in game adjustments are you and the
competition committee willing to make to help make the game more watchable?
Things like play clock, official conferences, anything in that realm.
“We have been focused on this long before this
year. In fact, a year and a half ago when we had the over the top game
with Yahoo, we actually took commercial inventory out to try to address
this. What we’re trying to do is to make our product as exciting and our
games as exciting and as action-packed as possible. So it comes on
various different levels for us and we have not dismissed any theories about
how we can continue to engage our fans more extensively either on television or
in the stadium. That’s what we do and that’s what we work towards all the
time. In respect to what the specifics we can do, we’re going to have the
competition committee focusing on several issues. One is, on instant
replay, would we bring the Surface tablet to the sideline to try to speed that
process up so they could make a decision more quickly, and resume the game as
quickly as possible so we don’t have unnecessary delays? Would we look at a
clock that would occur from the moment an extra point is kicked to the kickoff
so that we don’t have unnecessary delays, getting the teams onto the field so
there could be a play clock that would essentially dictate when the teams would
have to be prepared for the kickoff? We’re going to look at a number of other
changes in the way we manage the game, whether we make announcements on replay
before the replay starts or whether we just go and do the replay. So
there are a number of things where we think we can shorten the management of
the game, focus less on stoppages of the game and more on action. From a
commercial standpoint, we did test in Week 16 and we did test in the Yahoo!
game last year, we want to look at should we have the same number of breaks? We
have five breaks per quarter. We think we can do it in four breaks per
quarter. That is something that we’re leaning very heavily into.
That’s not a competition committee issue but it’s an issue with our membership
and our broadcast partners. We see opportunities to do that and maybe we
remove some of the stoppages as well as some of the commercialized aspects of
the game. We think less is more in this area and we can do it with the
right balance that will improve the quality of the experience in the stadium or
also on television. That’s what we’re focusing on so I expect to see a
lot of those changes this offseason.”
Could less also be more when it comes to
Thursday Night Football? What’s the future of Thursday Night Football and how
does social media play a part of the league moving forward?
“Thursday Night Football is something that we
are very committed to. Thursday Night Football ended up being the
number-two rated show on all of primetime on NBC this year and number four on
CBS. So we see our fans reacting positively to that. There is a lot
of discussion about the safety of the game, but we have seen absolutely no
indications that there is any further risk of injuries, and injury rates are
actually slightly lower on Thursday night than they are on Sunday. When
it relates to the quality of the game, we’ve seen that be incredibly positive
also. We’ve seen less turnovers. We’ve seen less penalties on
almost every aspect of what you would say the quality of the game. We’ve
seen high quality football on Thursday night. We put all 32 teams on
there. That’s something we did. We are thinking about whether we
reevaluate that and maybe don’t have quite the number of teams and maybe even
change the staggering of our Thursday night games so you have consecutive games
on CBS, consecutive games on the NFL Network and then consecutive games on
NBC. We’ve heard from our fans a great deal, ‘Where is the game? We want
to know where the game is.’ So we are going to look at all of that, and
continue to work on something that we think has gotten off to an incredible
start and we are very optimistic about the future on that.”
This week the popular, if at times
provocative, sports media outlet, Barstool Sports, was barred from all Super
Bowl activities. I’m wondering don’t you think any media outlet at all
should be credentialed to come to the Super Bowl and don’t you risk
perpetuating that the league you are running is the “No Fun League” when you
ban an outlet that’s popular especially with young fans?
“I’m not familiar with this. I really
don’t have any information about who is credentialed and who’s not
credentialed. I’ll take your word for it. I assume there is a
reason why a particular organization may not be credentialed to be here.
I think you can see by looking around that we have pretty open arms about who
attends the Super Bowl as a media outlet. I’ve never heard that in the context
of ‘No Fun League.’ We hear it, obviously, as it relates to celebrations on the
field. That is something we will look at in the offseason, but that is
something we’ve been dealing with for well over 35 years that I’ve been in the
league. In the same concept is balancing sportsmanship, avoiding taunting
and trying to allow players the ability to express themselves in an exuberant
way and to celebrate. We think that’s great. We want to see more of
that. We want to see the players do that, but we want to see them do it
respectfully to their teammates and their opponents.”
Do you see any path in the future where
St. Louis could return to the NFL? Also, has the league – on any level –
had any discussions with officials in Missouri or St. Louis on this subject?
“I had some conversations with your new
governor in Missouri (Eric Greitens), but it was around the Kansas City playoff
game where we had the inclement weather and dangerous weather, frankly, when we
had to modify the kickoff time. So not about the stadium or what it would
take to return as an NFL city. We have a lot of respect for the
community, for the fans there, and if they want to engage in that, we would.”
For decades, the NFL has helped families
from Mexico and the U.S. bond together, watch the games. I grew up
watching NFL games with a Mexican father and American mom. Nowadays, what
can the NFL do outside the field to help build a better relationship between
Mexico and the U.S., and not necessarily build other things?
“One of the things that we truly believe in our
hearts is that the NFL really does bond communities together and can be a
bridge in that way. It unites people. We’re going to see it this
weekend with the Super Bowl, where millions of people are going to tune in and
they’re going to celebrate and they’re going to all forget about other things
for at least a short period of time and really focus on having fun and being
entertained by the Super Bowl. That’s something that we’re proud of, and
by having the Patriots and Raiders play in Mexico next year, we hope that that
very positive will show that we’re reaching out to our fans in Mexico, we’re
reaching out to our Hispanic fans here in the United States. We’re going
to continue to do those things. We think they’re positive and they can be
helpful overall.”
(Inaudible follow-up question on the
date of the 2017 Mexico City game)
“We haven’t decided that. I think right
now we’re leaning toward a Sunday game on the basis that playing on Monday
night on a holiday weekend – it was Thanksgiving week – it was difficult for
the teams getting home that late at night on a short week. So, we’re
reconsidering that and seeing if there’s a better alternative for our teams.”
You’ve been pretty outspoken about $25
billion as a revenue goal for you in the next decade. I’m curious, with
another year under your belt, a better understanding of technology, media,
consumption – if that’s getting easier to attain, or harder?
“I really haven’t been that outspoken on
it. I’ve been asked about it. We all have goals, but our goals are
much broader than that. Our goals are about how we continue to grow (and)
how we continue to make this league more successful than it is, reach more
people, continue to expand our business internationally. Yes, revenue
growth is important, as it is, for our players, who share all of that.
All of these things are important to us. That is not a singular goal for
us. We believe that the changing media landscape is good for people that
have high quality content, like the NFL. We believe in our content, we
believe in the value of our content, and we believe that it can help
technologies. We actually think that, that’s very much a positive in our
long-term goals to continue to grow and be successful.”
You said a minute ago that if you’re
invited back to Foxboro, you’d go. To the best of your knowledge, over
the last month, have you been welcome in Foxboro?
“By whom? I’m not sure your question. I
have no doubt that if I wanted to come up to a Patriots game, and I asked Mr.
Kraft, he would welcome me back. That’s up to him, though.”
How has your relationship with the team
changed over the last two years?
“Listen, we have a disagreement about what
occurred. We have been very transparent about what we think the violation
was (and) it went through a very lengthy process. We disagree about
that. But, I continue to respect and admire Robert (Kraft), Jonathan
(Kraft), and the entire organization. They are an extraordinary
organization, and they’re extraordinary people. I have a very deep and
close relationship to them, but that doesn’t change that we have to
compartmentalize things that we disagree on. I’ll be honest with you; I
have disagreements with probably all 32 of our teams. I’m not afraid of
disagreement, and I don’t think that disagreement leads to distrust, or hatred,
it’s just a disagreement. You take your disagreements, you find a common
place and you move forward. That’s what it is. It’s not all
personal nature – which I know people like to make it. But for us, it’s
about making sure we do what’s right for the league long-term.”
I remember you stood up at the Super
Bowl press conference last year and talked about how you wanted to have a
two-strike ejection rule potentially, that was instituted on a one-year basis
for unsportsmanlike conduct. Do you expect the owners to keep that and/or
expand it to other fouls? And related to that, there was confusion among some
players, such as Antonio Brown, about what exactly constitutes unsportsmanlike
conduct in terms of celebration. Would you like to see the rules made
more clear, perhaps instituting a strict two-pump limit?
“(Laughter) I haven’t really thought about
that, that’s an interesting one. But, we always seek to clarify
rules. The reason we put it in as a one-year experiment, we also did the
same with our kickoff rule, is so that we can see what the impact is of the
rule change. Both the intended impact and the unintended consequences of
that. That’s something that we have done very successfully, very
effectively. I think the unsportsmanlike conduct, two fouls, seems to be
a very positive thing. We will look at it again through the competition
committee, it will have to come up for another vote. If we modify it,
that’s great, if we can clarify it and make it sharper. And the same with
our kickoff rule. I think both of those will be looked at, as well as a
number of other rule alternatives and proposals that we’ll have.”
Other sports leagues have clarified
their position on the temporary ban on the refugees, for example, in the
NBA. What is the league stance? Secondly, are you at all concerned that
the political events unfurling are overshadowing the Super Bowl?
“We’re aware of the conversations that are
going on and the division. As commissioner of the NFL I’m singularly focused on
the Super Bowl right now. As I’ve said before, we have a unique position
to have an event on Sunday that will bring the world together. They will
have an opportunity to be entertained, feel good about what we’re doing and
that’s something that we feel very proud of and it’s something that we’re going
to continue to be focused on through this game.”
You’ve handed Tom Brady a lot of
trophies, but then you saw him in court a lot. Since you haven’t been to
Gillette (Stadium) all year, have you had a chance to talk to Tom at all this
season?
“I never talk about whether, when I have
conversations, who I have conversations with. If they want to disclose
that, that’s their prerogative. But I think people, when we communicate,
expect a level of confidence that I am not going to take that outside of the
circle and that they can call or communicate and I can do the same with them
without having to read it in the newspapers every time. So, I don’t
disclose when I talk to players or communicate with them. I do it
frequently. I get a lot of tremendous input from our players. I
respect our players and their views. Anytime they call or anytime that
they contact me, I listen carefully.”
Does the NFL have a plan in the future
or a project to start a league or level up a league to help all of these
players that aren’t quite in the NFL level, but they just need a push between
college and the NFL?
“Yes, we’ve discussed at length the
alternative, creating a developmental league. As you mentioned, NFL
Europe served one aspect of that. But I think if we did it, we would be
focusing exactly on that point, which is; the development of players, coaches,
officials, trainers, other medical officials to try to expand on the number and
the quality that are involved in our game. We have a debate that goes on
this on several fronts with football people. Some of the coaches would
prefer to go with an expanded practice squad roster and have them in the
facilities and have them exposed to their system. Those are legitimate
points of view and something that we consider very carefully. But, the
developmental league is something that we’re actively considering.”
Where does the investigation stand on
the Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott on his domestic violence situation,
and when do you hope to have that completed?
“I am not putting any pressure on our
investigators. We have highly trained, highly skilled investigators that
are looking into this. We do not put timetables or pressures on them to
make those decisions. We want them to be thorough. We want them to
be fair and come to the right conclusion. So when they do, they will
notify me and we’ll take it from there, but at this point, there is no
timetable.”
What kind of message do you think the
league is sending its fans that the Chargers were allowed to leave after 56
years in San Diego of great support, largely because the owner was not able to
finance his own stadium and was relying on lots of public money and money from
the league?
“As I said before, these are painful
processes. It is hard on our fans. We understand that. It is
not the outcome we were hoping for. We hoped to get an outcome where we
could keep the Chargers there for another 50 years. A stadium, and I
think you live in the community, it has taken quite a while to recognize a new
stadium was needed, but I think every party in San Diego recognized a new
stadium was necessary. The Spanos family, the NFL as a collective 32
clubs, all worked very hard. So it is a process that has to identify a
solution that is good for the community as well as the team, so that they can
obviously not only coexist, but benefit long term. We weren’t able to do
that. I think it’s something that is a collective disappointment and a
collective responsibility on all of us, and we have to work harder to try to
avoid these things from happening in the future.”
Last media night – Monday night –
numerous questions were asked from people in this room and others about the
President of the United States. All of those questions and the answers
were deleted or redacted from all the transcripts and the videos. Is the
NFL or are you not comfortable with the idea of President Trump?
“I am not aware of anything being deleted from
transcripts or anything else, so that’s not a …”
There is no mention of the President of
the United States whatsoever anywhere, or in the videos
“I must tell you, that’s one thing I am not
responsible for around here is the transcripts.”
Josh Brown, the former Giants kicker,
gave an interview to ABC. It’s going to air tomorrow, and in that he said
that the league is continuing its investigation into his domestic abuse case,
that he would like an opportunity to return to the league. Is it true
that the league, that investigation continues, and would you be open to a
return to the league by Josh Brown if a team wanted to sign him? Additionally,
in light of that case, the Ezekiel Elliott case you just addressed, how do you
assess your current domestic violence policies’ ability to handle these
situations compared to what it used to be?
“I think we’ve made very important progress,
not only on domestic violence, but personal conduct policies in general.
We’ve seen in the last two years since we implemented this policy 40 percent
reduction each year, I believe, over the last two years in the number of
arrests. That is still – every arrest we have is one too many, but the
reality of it is the vast, vast majority of our players are extraordinary young
men who do great things in their communities. The policy is there in
hopes that we can help educate players, help them make better decisions going
forward, transition in and out of the NFL more effectively and give them the
tools to make the right decisions. We do have an active investigation on
Josh Brown, what you know from last fall is that we didn’t have all the
information from law enforcement. They released some of that at a later
date. We now have that information and we will continue that
investigation and until we have a final decision we won’t be making a decision
about anyone’s eligibility on that front.”
With the Denver Broncos run by a group
of trustees, instead of a single individual or ownership group, is there any
concern on behalf of the league or the owners of their succession plan to Pat
Bowlen, and is there a timetable for them to find a new owner?
“They have an owner, it’s Pat Bowlen.
Unfortunately, he has significant health challenges right now. I worked
with Pat directly, so I know he had set up a set up a system that was compliant
with our rules, if such an unfortunate situation occurred. Pat is someone
that I deeply admire and respect, so the trust has worked effectively in the
short term, but it’s a decision at some point in time, that the membership will
have to make. The finance committee and the broader membership of whether
that’s compliant and whether any changes they can make beyond the trust will be
consistent with our policies.”
-SB LI-