METAIRIE, La. - New Orleans Saints veterans Drew Brees and Zach Strief expressed concerns Monday that the growing mistrust in the NFL league office has spilled over from the players to the fans and is hurting the league's popularity.
"We feel like (the decline in TV ratings) is a direct result," said Brees, who has been an outspoken critic of the way NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has handled controversial sagas like the Saints' Bountygate investigation, Tom Brady's Deflategate investigation and the Ray Rice and Josh Brown domestic violence investigations.
"I know the players don't have any faith in the way that things are conducted within the front office in the NFL - certainly when it comes to any type of investigation, when it comes to any type of commissioner discipline," Brees said.