Despite a string of controversies the NFL commissioner’s ability to generate money for owners helped protect him. But now their patience is wearing thinHow odd would it be if, after a tumultuous decade of debacle and debate in Roger Goodell’s NFL, the one to bring down the commissioner turns out to be Donald Trump?For the first time in his tenure the Goodell’s job is in danger and the uncertainty has come swiftly. Just weeks ago Goodell was on the verge of a five-year contract extension worth more than $100m. The new deal was believed to be certain, an affirmation that although Goodell has irritated many of the league’s owners and is wildly unpopular with fans, those same owners believed he...
America’s most progressive major sports league may be at the onset of its most important season – and not for what will happen on the courtImagine a sports league whose athletes are encouraged to speak out against social injustice. Imagine a league that doesn’t treat activism like a threat, painting over the shouts for change with flimsy public relations initiatives in hopes of placating fans and advertisers. Imagine a league that invites difficult conversations rather than close its eyes and hope the uncomfortable moments go away. As the NFL dithers in the face of player expression, the NBA embraces it. For the last three weeks NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has danced around the proper response to his players’ silent shout...
Ticket sales and TV ratings are down after the president attacked player protests. But he also exposed plenty of ugly truths about AmericaThroughout these last two weeks of the NFL anthem wars, Donald Trump’s gift for telling people who do not answer to him what to do has been on majestic display. Players who kneel during the anthem? Fire or suspend! Football fans? Should boycott games! NFL administrators? Need to tell players to stand! Must change policy! It’s all proof, once again, that there’s no problem this man cannot fix, so long as he has no responsibility for its resolution. The bad news: it might be working. Look at the data and there’s reason to think the Great Extra-Jurisdictional Delegator’s...
In the wake of Charlottesville, protests against the president and his administration will only get louder and the sporting world is no exceptionOf all the reasons for resigning from Donald Trump’s “American Manufacturing Council” in the wake of the president’s reaction to the Nazi rally in Charlottesville, the one offered on Tuesday by Under Armour chief executive Kevin Plank felt the most wilfully naive. According to the boss of the sportswear firm, he was stepping down because “Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics”.Oh dear. I’m not quite sure what Plank imagined he was getting Under Armour into when he took his seat on Trump’s American Manufacturing Council, but I can’t believe he really is so dim that...
Rory McIlroy has faced predictable criticism for playing a round with the US president, but he can take the sting out of the controversy by telling us whether Trump cemented his reputation as a cheat on the courseOnce again, Rory McIlroy must be kicking himself that he became a top international golfer instead of a grubbing hack. If you’re a writer and you somehow wangled a round of golf with the US president, no one would blame you for going along for a gawk. In fact, they’d blame you if you didn’t. You’d be failing in your duties, and questions would have to be asked.What did you get into this game for, if it wasn’t to seize the chance of...