Robert Kraft defends Roger Goodell: "The way he has handled this situation is excellent"

SB39 said:

Absolutely not. I have no problem is changing my opinion if new facts come out. I always reserve the right to change my mind if I base an opinion on a belief which is later proven untrue.

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We'll see.

Haley said:

And I think that is totally fair and entirely you prerogative.

Personally, it is the fact that the NFL initially blamed Janal and sold those lies to the public that makes me want him ousted.

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I've heard this statement several times and I still don't know what people are talking about. What exactly did the league do to "blame Janay"? Specifics and details (not unnamed sources) please.

I think people are confusing the Ravens' idiocy and PR debacles of the past summer with the league.

The owners chose Goodell over an accomplished business attorney precisely because of burgeoning rules violations and player misconduct. They KNEW they had the Golden Goose well in hand. They KNEW that Tags laid the proper groundwork toward the ultimate end of increased revenue streams and popularity. The reason they chose Goodell over a bland attorney was his brash, tough guy, take no prisoners approach. The approach THEY wanted taken to get the league back in line and focused on the only goal they, the 32 Billionaires Club, care about.

Now they have this "over his head" ex jock running amok like a cyclopean bull into a minefield of PR disaster the likes of which have not been seen in ANY of the 4 major sports.

If they terminate him, they will hire a qualified suit with a business and law degree and an astute knowledge of PR-2014, and the party will continue unabated.

Haley said:

And I think that is totally fair and entirely you prerogative.

Personally, it is the fact that the NFL initially blamed Janal and sold those lies to the public that makes me want him ousted. That they may have seen the tape is simply more damning. If they didn't see the tape, they still publicly blamed her based on poor investigation work. If they aren't in the business of investigation, why are they in the business of assigning blame? To me, the victim blaming is enough that he should resign.

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I can't nor do I want to forward a rebuttal in defense of any perpetrator of domestic violence.

Bella*chick said:

More investigations. I bet it clears everything up!

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Don't be so cynical.

At least an independent investigation by Louis Freeh brought down a number of individuals in the Penn State Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

SB39 said:

********. We remember what Rozelle did 50 years later. In 2064, no one is going to care about or remember the Ray Rice fiasco.

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Bull crap. No one cares about what happened 50 years ago because no one was legally hurt. Now troll somewhere else.

Bella*chick said:

Well, all things being equal, I'd prefer he go. It's been one mistake after another under the Goodell regime.

Why Kraft is so in love with him, I'll never know.

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In my experience, rich men enjoy two things more than anything else: money and power.

SB39 said:

I've heard this statement several times and I still don't know what people are talking about. What exactly did the league do to "blame Janay"? Specifics and details (not unnamed sources) please.

I think people are confusing the Ravens' idiocy and PR debacles of the past summer with the league.

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A valid point. And it is true that it is not entirely clear cut, but then this sort of thing seldom is, particularly with politicians as skilled as these. The Ravens, as you point out, were more directly involved in the blame game with the tweet they sent out (that they later removed) that directly implicated her with fault. This was followed up with Goodell's decision of a small initial sentence (2 days suspension), This lessening of sentence was based in part on Janay's "moving and convincing case". It is natural to assume this is the same case she made publicly which consisted of an apology for her actions and the same case that drew blame from the Ravens. The implication was, she was enough at fault that a lesser suspension was warranted.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/08/opinion/robbins-ray-rice-abuse/index.html
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/25/ray-rice-nfl-suspension-ravens/

Haley said:

A valid point. And it is true that it is not entirely clear cut, but then this sort of thing seldom is, particularly with politicians as skilled as these. The Ravens, as you point out, were more directly involved in the blame game with the tweet they sent out (that they later removed) that directly implicated her with fault. This was followed up with Goodell's decision of a small initial sentence (2 days suspension), This lessening of sentence was based in part on Janay's "moving and convincing case". It is natural to assume this is the same case she made publicly which consisted of an apology for her actions and the same case that drew blame from the Ravens. The implication was, she was enough at fault that a lesser suspension was warranted.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/08/opinion/robbins-ray-rice-abuse/index.html
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/07/25/ray-rice-nfl-suspension-ravens/

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I think you have some valid points, but I disagree with the notion that Ray Rice received some sort of "lesser suspension." As I demonstrated previously, the Ray Rice suspension was very much in line with other suspension given to other, similar incidents. If anything, Ray Rice received a suspension that was harsher than the norm.

None of those previous suspensions generated any media or fan outrage. Guess those guys were lucky there was no video footage.

It's always video footage. Video footage means everything. People lack imaginations. You can say "The Bolsheviks turned the Soviet Union into a horror film beyond your comprehension, and killed 60 million unarmed people in ways you cannot imagine," but if there's no video documentation, the guy in ISIS who cut someone's head off for youtube is a million times worse.

It's just the American way. "pics or didn't happen."

There were a LOT of Raven fans defending Rice until the video came out. When it did, they couldn't believe he did that, even though they already knew he did that. Go figure.

Bob,

Please let Jerrah say those kind of things.

SB39 said:

Why are the owner$ $o in love with the Commi$$ioner? Hm, that'$ a good que$tion.

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Kraft has had a lot of money for a while now. I thought he was about more than that. It's disappointing to see he's not. And why does he gave to be so vocal about it?

Adam Schefter on Mike and Mike right now saying that the owners still believe in and support Goodell overwhelmingly and believe still that he did nothing wrong. Also saying that people in the league will lose their jobs,but Goodell won't be one of them. Having Rooney and Mara "oversee" the independent investigation will result in skepticism about the findings. Golic and Greenberg suggesting, correctly I believe, that the investigation will take so long that the public furor will subside by the time the findings are revealed as the public will have moved on. Unfortunately, I think they're probably correct. I think Roger the Dodger will prove to be well-named.

Jackson 2 said:

Adam Schefter on Mike and Mike right now saying that the owners still believe in and support Goodell overwhelmingly and believe still that he did nothing wrong. Also saying that people in the league will lose their jobs,but Goodell won't be one of them. Having Rooney and Mara "oversee" the independent investigation will result in skepticism about the findings. Golic and Greenberg suggesting, correctly I believe, that the investigation will take so long that the public furor will subside by the time the findings are revealed as the public will have moved on. Unfortunately, I think they're probably correct. I think Roger the Dodger will prove to be well-named.

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It's a pass happy league....pass judgment, pass the buck, pass the hat, pass the salt, pass on the right, pass....fail.

Game's at 1pm. I'll pass.......er, fail.

ausbacker said:

What do you propose Goodell does? The NFL has said they didn't see the tape, unnamed sources are claiming they did. Outside of an independent investigation, there's nothing else to be done.

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I propose they do an actual independent investigation -- as opposed to one headed up by someone who was very close to Goodell's father And not to mention being overseen by Mara and Rooney.

Independent investigation, my *bleep*.

rochrist said:

Do you seriously think there aren't a thousand suits that could land in that job and make the league money?

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Condoleezza Rice's dream job is NFL Commish. Does she count as a suit?

Zeus said:

Pretty sure that Goodell is not a lawyer. His first job out of college (undergrad) was as an intern in the NFL office. He has no advanced degree and he has never worked anywhere else.

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I remember this topic coming up in a discussion I had with Jets fans back in 2007 during Crygate. At the time, Goodell's wikipedia page listed his first job as an intern with the NY Jets. Soon after that, it was changed to an intern in the NFL office and then with the Jets.

I'm starting to think the owners knew and at least supported the 2 game suspension based on their reaction. Their unflinching support is nauseating. I'm starting to become less interested in the NFL. It's not intentional. I'm just being honest. At the moment, it's moving down on my list of priorities.

The Boston Patriot said:

Is anyone else tired of this mess and who did what, when? I appreciate all the vitriol about Rice but the rest of the merde is overwhelming.

This is so reminiscent of spygate, bountygate, etc. with the media gorging themselves on any and all table scraps. Sometimes I wonder why I stay interested in organized sports between all the PC and freakin' fantasy BS. I might take up the schedule of the local HS games to go back to enjoying some football without the rest of the garbage.

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I took that approach with MLB 15-20 years ago, and I don't miss it one bit. I did take in one game at Fenway this year, but quickly remembered why I left them in the first place. I won't be back.

Wow, what a coincidence. My father-in-law is a former chairman and managing parter of WilmerHale and I just found out they're doing the investigation through Mueller. WilmerHale is a major firm. I'm going to have to see if I can get some info...doubt it but we'll see. lol