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Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who has served as the
commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
of the National Football League (NFL) since 2006. Goodell began his NFL career in 1982 as an administrative intern in the league office in New York under then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle. The position was secured through a letter-writing campaign to the league office and each of its then 28 teams. In 1983, he joined the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
as an intern, but returned to the league office in 1984 as an assistant in the public relations department. In 1987, Goodell was appointed assistant to the president of the
American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
, Lamar Hunt, and under the tutelage of Commissioner Paul Tagliabue filled a variety of football and business operations roles, culminating with his appointment as the NFL's executive vice president and chief operating officer in December 2001. As the NFL's COO, Goodell took responsibility for the league's football operations and officiating, as well as supervised league business functions. He headed NFL Ventures, which oversees the league's business units, including media properties, marketing and sales, stadium development, and strategic planning. Goodell was heavily involved in the negotiation of the collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA and NFL owners during the summer of 2011. He also played an extensive role in league expansion, realignment, and stadium development, including the launch of the NFL Network and securing new television agreements.


Early life

Goodell was born in
Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...
on February 19, 1959, to United States Senator Charles Ellsworth Goodell of New York, and his first wife Jean (Rice) Goodell of Buffalo, New York. Goodell graduated from Bronxville High School where, as a three-sport star in
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, basketball, and baseball, he captained all three teams as a senior and was named the school's athlete of the year. Injuries kept him from playing
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
. Goodell is a 1981 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania with a degree in economics.


As NFL Commissioner


Selection

When Tagliabue retired, Goodell was one of the candidates in contention for the position. In the second and third ballots, Goodell and Gregg Levy were the only candidates to receive votes (Goodell 17, Levy 14). Goodell increased his lead to 21–10 after the fourth ballot, falling one vote shy of election, but on the fifth round of voting two owners swung their votes to him to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority (Goodell 23, Levy 8). The
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
abstained from the voting in each round. On August 8, 2006, Goodell was chosen to succeed Tagliabue; he assumed office on September 1, the date Tagliabue was required to step down.


Actions

Goodell believes his primary responsibility as commissioner is protecting the integrity of the game and making it safer—"protecting the shield", as he puts it (a reference to the NFL's shield logo). However, some of his actions in this regard have been met with criticism. In 2014, Goodell was awarded the third highest honor within the Department of the Army Civilian Awards scheme, the
Outstanding Civilian Service Award The Meritorious Public Service Medal formerly the Outstanding Civilian Service Award is the third highest honor within the public service awards scheme of the Department of the Army that can be awarded to a private citizen. Eligibility The Secret ...
, for substantial contributions to the US Army community while serving as the NFL commissioner.


NFL in Europe

The spring league
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
, founded in 1995 and since 2004 with five of six teams based in Germany, was shut down by Goodell after the 2007 season. The NFL International Series began in October 2007 with regular season games in London.


Player conduct policy

In April 2007, following a year of significant scandal surrounding some NFL players' actions off the field, Goodell announced a new NFL Personal Conduct Policy. Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones and
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
wide receiver Chris Henry were the first two players to be suspended under the new policy, and
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
defensive lineman
Tank Johnson Terry "Tank" Johnson (born December 7, 1981) is a former American professional American football, football defensive tackle in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second ...
was suspended months later because of his conduct involving weapon ownership and drunk driving. On August 31, 2007, Goodell suspended Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson for five games and fined him US$100,000 and suspended
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
safety Rodney Harrison for four games without pay, after they admitted the use of banned substances for medical purposes and to accelerate healing, respectively. The league indicated to Wilson that his more severe penalty was because they held "people in authority in higher regard than people on the field." Goodell has also imposed suspensions on the following players for conduct: In addition to suspensions, Goodell has also fined players for on-field misconduct. For example, on October 19, 2010, the NFL handed out fines to
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
linebacker James Harrison, Falcons cornerback
Dunta Robinson Willie Dunta Robinson ( ; born April 11, 1982) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at South Carolina and was drafted by the Houston Texans with the 10th overall selection in the 2004 NFL Draft. Robinson also play ...
, and
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
safety Brandon Meriweather after they were involved in controversial hits the previous Sunday. Goodell released a memo to every team in the league stating that "It is clear to me that further action is required to emphasize the importance of teaching safe and controlled techniques, and of playing within the rules." The NFL's reaction to the hits was itself controversial and Goodell came under criticism from players like Troy Polamalu, who felt he had assumed too much control and power over punishment towards players and was making wrong decisions. Two national political advocacy groups, CREDO and UltraViolet have submitted a petition with over 100,000 signatures calling on Goodell and the NFL to "address its domestic violence problem." This came after Ray Rice was suspended for two games when he was accused of assaulting his then fiancée, Janay Palmer, who is now his wife.


Handling of Spygate and the ordered destruction of Patriots' film tapes

On September 13, 2007, Goodell disciplined the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
and head coach Bill Belichick after New England attempted to videotape the defensive signals of the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
from an illegal position on September 9. In the aftermath, Belichick was fined the league maximum of $500,000. The Patriots themselves were fined $250,000 and had to forfeit a first round pick in the
2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
. As part of Goodell's probe into the allegations, the NFL required the Patriots to turn over any and all notes and tapes relating to the taping of opponents' defensive signals; the Patriots did not want the video tapes to leave their facilities, in turn league officials, by order of Goodell, went to Patriots athletic facilities and proceeded to smash the tapes. Goodell came down hard on the Patriots because he felt Belichick's authority over football operations (Belichick is effectively the Patriots' general manager as well as head coach) was such that his decisions were "properly attributed" to the Patriots as well. Goodell said he considered suspending Belichick, but decided against it because he felt fining them and stripping them of a draft pick were "more effective" than a suspension.


Involvement in the 2011 NFL lockout

Outside of player conduct, Goodell is also known for his work in the
2011 NFL lockout The 2011 National Football League Player lockout was a work stoppage imposed by the owners of the NFL's 32 teams that lasted from March 12, 2011, to July 25, 2011. When the owners and the NFL players, represented by the National Football League ...
. Prior to the start of the
2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion New ...
, Goodell worked with
NFL owners __NOTOC__ The following is a list of current National Football League franchise owners: Family ownership Benson, Bidwill, McCaskey, Brown, Irsay, Hamp, Hunt, Mara, Davis, Rooney, Glazer, Spanos, York, and Adams-Strunk represent ownership ...
and the NFLPA on settling the
NFL lockout The NFL lockout may refer to any of the lockouts or strikes in the history of the National Football League: * The 1968 NFL strike/lockout, which lasted 12 days before the start of the 1968 season. * The 1970 NFL strike/lockout, which lasted a ...
which ran from March 11 to August 5. During the lockout, at the request of some NFL teams, he held conference calls with season ticket holders where he discussed the collective bargaining agreement and conducted question-and-answer sessions on various NFL topics.


Handling of Bountygate

In March 2012, Goodell revealed evidence that players and coaches on the New Orleans Saints had instituted a bounty program in which Saints defensive players were paid bonuses for deliberately knocking opposing players out of games. Then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams administered the program, and as many as 27 Saints defensive players were involved. Later that month, Goodell handed down some of the harshest penalties in NFL history. He suspended Williams, who had left to become defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, indefinitely (Williams was reinstated at the start of the 2013 season). Goodell also suspended head coach
Sean Payton Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...
for the entire 2012 season, general manager
Mickey Loomis Mickey Loomis is the executive vice president and General manager of the NFL's New Orleans Saints. He was named NFL executive of the year for 2006. From 2012-2019, he was also head of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans of the N ...
for eight games and assistant head coach
Joe Vitt Joe Vitt (born August 23, 1954) is an American football coach who last coached for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was previously the assistant head coach and linebackers coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Foo ...
for six games. Additionally, the Saints themselves were fined a league maximum $500,000 and had to forfeit their second round draft picks in
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. Goodell was particularly upset that those involved in the program lied about it during two separate league investigations of the program. Sanctions for players were not handed down at the time, and Goodell stated he would refrain from penalizing players until the NFLPA completed its investigation of the affair.


Replacement referees and involvement in the 2012 referee lockout

By June 2012, the league and the NFL Referees Association had not yet come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, thus failing to resolve a labor dispute. Accordingly, the NFL
locked out Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
the regular NFL game officials and opened the 2012 season with replacement referees. The replacement officials consisted of low-level college and high school officials. None were Division I college referees at the time since the league wanted to protect them from union backlash and let them continue working their scheduled games during the concurrent college football season. In addition, many of the top Division I conferences barred their officials from becoming replacements anyway because they employed current and former NFL referees as officiating supervisors. Despite Goodell stating during the preseason that he believed that the replacement officials will "do a credible job", the inexperience of the replacement referees generated criticism by writers and players. Referencing Goodell's aforementioned other actions as commissioner, the NFLPA issued a letter after Week 2 to the owners to end the dispute, saying: The
Fail Mary The Fail Mary, sometimes known as the Inaccurate Reception or the Intertouchdownception, was the final play of an American football game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL) that occurred on S ...
was a direct result of the replacement referees during the 2012 NFL season. During the final play of a Week 2 game between the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
and
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
that occurred on September 24, 2012, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, Packers safety M.D. Jennings intercepted a pass from Seahawks quarterback
Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...
in the endzone during a botched
Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
attempt with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter. However, the replacement referees ruled it a completion and a touchdown. The controversial ending followed weeks of criticism regarding the quality of officiating by replacement officials employed by the NFL during the
2012 NFL referee lockout The 2012 NFL referee lockout was a labor dispute between the National Football League (NFL) and the NFL Referees Association that resulted in the use of replacement officials through Week 3 of the 2012 NFL season. The lockout began in June 2012 ...
.


Player brain damage lawsuits

Under Goodell's leadership, on August 30, 2013, the NFL reached a $765 million settlement with the former NFL players over
head injuries A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...
. The settlement created a $675 million compensation fund from which former NFL players can collect from depending on the extent of their conditions. Severe conditions such as Lou Gehrig's disease and postmortem diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy would be entitled to payouts as high as $5 million. From the remainder of the settlement, $75 million would be used for medical exams, and $10 million would be used for research and education. However, in January, 2014, U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody refused to accept the agreed settlement because "the money wouldn't adequately compensate the nearly 20,000 men not named in the suit". In 2014, the cap was removed from the amount.


Handling of Deflategate and Tom Brady suspension backlash

After the NFL suspended
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
quarterback Tom Brady four games for his alleged awareness of team employees deflating footballs, as indicated in the Wells Report, the NFLPA filed an appeal of his suspension on May 14, 2015. Despite their request for a neutral third party arbitrator, the NFL announced that Goodell would preside over Brady's appeal hearing, which he did on June 23. Goodell announced his upholding of the suspension on July 28, citing the destruction of Brady's cell phone as critical evidence that Brady "knew about, approved of, consented to, and provided inducements and rewards in support of a scheme by which, with Mr. Jastremski's support, Mr. McNally tampered with the game balls." The same day, the NFL filed papers in Manhattan federal court to confirm Goodell's upholding of the suspension. A day after the suspension was upheld, Brady and Patriots owner Robert Kraft made statements criticizing the league, with Brady stating that he was never "made aware at any time during Mr. Wells investigation, that failing to subject my cell phone to investigation would result in ANY discipline." On August 4, U.S. District Judge
Richard M. Berman Richard Miles Berman (born September 11, 1943) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Education and early career Berman received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cor ...
ordered the transcript from Brady's appeal hearing released to the public. Writers quickly spotted contradictions between Goodell's statement and Brady's testimony, notably regarding increased phone conversations between Brady and team staffer John Jastremski in the weeks between the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl XLIX.
Dan Wetzel Dan Wetzel is an author, screenwriter, documentary film producer, podcaster, and national columnist for Yahoo Sports and Yahoo.com. Career As a sports writer, he has worked as the national columnist for Yahoo Sports and Yahoo.com, covering events ...
of Yahoo! Sports pointed out that while Goodell had stated in upholding the suspension that Brady claimed he only spoke with Jastremski about football preparations for the Super Bowl, which would be suspicious if correct due to the increase in communication, Brady had testified in the hearing that other topics, including the alleged deflation, were discussed. The NFL was also criticized for a conflict of interest at the hearing, as one of the lawyers who worked on the Wells Report, Lorin Reisner, cross-examined Brady during the hearing on behalf of the league;
Ted Wells Theodore V. "Ted" Wells, Jr. (born April 28, 1950) is an American lawyer who works in the field of criminal law. A litigation partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Wells has been selected by the Nationa ...
' independence in his investigation, as repeatedly asserted by the league, was also put to question, as he testified that NFL counsel Jeff Pash reviewed the report. Berman vacated Brady's suspension on September 3, citing a lack of fair due process. Analysts criticized Goodell for his violation of due process in order to uphold an extreme punishment and his arrogance in presuming he superseded the NFL's rules. Wetzel stated that "Judge Berman didn't declare Brady innocent on Thursday; he declared the NFL guilty of violating federal law in trying to declare Brady guilty." Michael Hurley of CBS Boston pointed out that the NFL's case was centered on Article 46 of the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), but Berman cited Article 46 as evidence that the league had used unfair process. The NFL announced it would appeal Judge Berman's decision just hours after the suspension was overturned. The appeal hearing was held March 3, 2016. At the hearing the three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit scrutinized Players Association lawyer
Jeffrey L. Kessler Jeffrey L. Kessler is a partner at the international law firm Winston & Strawn, where he also serves as co-executive chairman and co-chair of the firm's antitrust/competition and sports law practices. Until May 2012, he was the global litigation ch ...
more intensely than NFL lawyer
Paul Clement Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2004 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He established his own law firm, Clement & Murphy, in 2022 after le ...
, with Circuit Judge Denny Chin even stating that "the evidence of ball tampering is compelling, if not overwhelming." On April 25, 2016, the Second Circuit reinstated Brady's four-game suspension for the
2016 NFL season The 2016 NFL season was the 97th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 51st of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 8, 2016, with defending Super Bowl 50 champion Denver defeating Carolina in the NF ...
. Circuit Judge
Barrington Daniels Parker, Jr. Barrington Daniels Parker Jr. (born August 21, 1944) is a Senior status, senior United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Background Parker's father, Barrington Danie ...
, joined by Circuit Judge Chin, wrote that they could not "second-guess" the arbitration but were merely determining it "met the minimum legal standards established by the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947". Circuit Chief Judge
Robert Katzmann Robert Allen Katzmann (April 22, 1953 – June 9, 2021) was a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He served as chief judge from September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2020. Early life Rober ...
dissented, writing that the NFL's fines for using
stickum Stickum is a trademark adhesive of Mueller Sports Medicine, of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, United States. It is available in powder, paste, and aerosol spray forms. According to the company website, the spray form helps improve grip "even in w ...
were "highly analogous" and that here "the Commissioner was doling out his own brand of industrial justice." On May 21, 2015, ''The Washington Post'' published an article that Goodell's efforts to harshly suspend Brady were "part of a personal power play", supporting public claims that he was simply trying to demonstrate authority within the league.


Suppression of US national anthem protests

On May 23, 2018, Commissioner Goodell and NFL owners approved a new policy requiring all players to stand during the national anthem or given the option to stay in the locker room during the national anthem. Any players from an NFL team who protested the anthem while on the field would become subject to discipline from the league. In addition, the teams as a whole would be subject to punishment and other forms of discipline from the NFL as a result. In light of the renewed Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, he recanted this position, encouraging players to speak their minds more freely.


Personal life

In October 1997, Goodell married former
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
anchor Jane Skinner and together they have twin daughters, born in 2001. He has four brothers: among them are Tim, who is a senior vice president for the Hess Corporation, and Michael, married to Jack Kenny, creator of the short-lived NBC series ''
The Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...
''. The Webster family on the show was loosely based on the Goodell family. Goodell's cousin Andy Goodell is a member of the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...
. Goodell starred as himself in the NFL 100 commercial before
Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodell, Roger 1959 births Living people National Football League commissioners People from Bronxville, New York Sportspeople from Jamestown, New York Washington & Jefferson College alumni