It’s a good thing Roger Goodell won’t be attending the New England Patriots’ season-opening home game Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Goodell needs to focus his energy on something far more worth his time: How a self-righteous dictator can keep the most influential position in American sports.
Of all the public-relations losses Goodell has endured in recent years, none stings more than an independent federal judge nullifying a four-game suspension of Tom Brady, ruling the NFL commissioner misused his power in penalizing the Patriots quarterback. The shot across the bow came when judge Richard Berman strongly rebuked Goodell, saying he “dispensed his own brand of industrial justice” and gave Brady no due process in answering accusations about deflated footballs.