There are seemingly as many reasons to dislike NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as there have been Super Bowls played. Fingers crossed, we may actually get to 51 by kickoff time.At Monday's media night, multiple questions were asked to multiple players and coaches about President Donald Trump, because let's just say, bipartisanly, there's a lot going on. And not for nothing, but the President is friends with a number of people involved in Sunday's game. So sayeth the hat.Political questions to athletes don't generally bring out fiery takes, but if someone wants to have their say, this is the week—even backup long-snappers have a platform. It would be silly for the NFL to scrub the questions-and-answers, but not nearly as silly as pretending they never existed in the first place.Tom Shattuck of the Boston Herald, among others, noticed that there was nary a mention of President Trump in the officially released NFL transcripts, even though those questioned defined the night. So Shattuck asked Goodell about it at the commissioner's press conference on Wednesday and wouldn't you know it, not only is the Commissioner a liar—he's a really terrible one! He's a cigarette and a combover away from being Nathan Thurm.Goodell's mealy-mouth response to Shattuck's straightforward question was painful: "I am not aware of anything being deleted from transcripts…. That's one thing I'm not responsible for here, the transcripts." And fact-checkable. Like within seconds! Per Boston.com:"Of the transcripts provided for the interviews with 26 of the Patriots players and coaches, the word 'Trump' does not appear in any of them, and the word 'president' appears only in reference to team presidents, despite reporters' having asked about them. The word 'Goodell' appears once."The best part about Goodell's mumbly bullshit is that he pivots from not being aware of the in-house censorship, to not being someone who would have anything to do with omitting two-day-old vanilla responses about President Trump. As though that makes it any more believable or credible.One guy who wasn't fooled was Shattuck, who roasted Commissioner Thurm in his Herald column today:"It is time for even the most ardent supporter to admit that there is a problem with the guy at the top. The brash New Yorker's all-consuming and neurotic insistence on controlling the message has virtually sidelined the fourth estate.Dangerous stuff.Welcome to the world of Roger Goodell. A world in which the commissioner simply deletes what does not please him, or God forbid, might embarrass him."And that's just the opener! Go on…"Roger Goodell is a coward, sure, but we've entered crazy territory. The election of President Trump has rattled the minds of many in the country."Unlike the fabulist cowering behind the Shield, Shattuck is fighting a good, truthful fight. Read him right now.
Advertisement
Advertisement