NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has faced a lot of criticism lately surrounding his discipline of players. There’s been complaints about his punishments being too lenient or too harsh and the fact that he became the judge, jury and executioner. Now Goodell says he’s open to changing his role in the league’s process for player discipline.
Goodell spoke Tuesday in an interview with ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike and addressed a number of topics, primarily his role in the “Deflategate” case and the recently overturned suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Goodell defended the NFL’s position in the case Tuesday and affirmed the league’s decision to appeal Berman’s ruling, but also said he has reconsidered his overall role in player discipline.
“I am open to changing my role,” he said. “It’s become extremely time-consuming, and I have to be focused on other issues. I’ve discussed this with owners.”
“I want to get to a better discipline situation,” he said. “I have had discussions with the [players’] union. … The courts are not where we should be having these discussions.
“A designated discipline officer or panel to make the initial decision would make for a better system. But we also have resistance to third-party arbitration. The standards of the NFL are important to uphold, and we don’t want to delegate that responsibility or standard.”
