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Wayland Student Press

The student news site of Wayland High School

Wayland Student Press

The student news site of Wayland High School

Wayland Student Press

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News Brief: Schedule changes this week
March 26, 2024
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Opinion: It’s time to show Goodell the door

Ben Porter gives his opinion that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should step down from his position.
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“Good Evening, and welcome to Primetime.”

This Thursday, April 30, the NFL draft will start with the same routine, read by the same man, Roger Goodell. Which raises an important question: How is this guy still employed?

We the fans have allowed ourselves to forget Goodell’s shameful bungling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case. We’ve allowed ourselves to move on. This is unacceptable. Goodell’s blunder is no less real and hurtful than it was this fall. Goodell must pay for his mistake, and we must demand a new face for our league.

Last fall, prominent Baltimore running back Ray Rice hit his then fiancée, now wife, Janay Palmer, knocking her unconscious in an elevator. From day one, the league had a video of Rice dragging an unconscious Palmer out of the elevator. These facts never were in dispute. Yet despite the obvious atrocity, Goodell served Rice with a mere two game suspension.

Meanwhile, Goodell took a harder stance against Josh Gordon, a Cleveland receiver who admittedly failed his drug test for smoking marijuana. Gordon was suspended 16 games, an entire season, to Rice’s measly two.

Even more baffling, Goodell’s “punishment” was the league’s reaction once a second video that showed Rice clobbering Palmer was released. To the NFL, this video marked a turning point. After its release, the league scrambled to extend Rice’s suspension to the appropriate length — indefinite. But what light did the elevator video shine on this crime that the NFL was previously unaware of? Why was Rice’s admission and the clip showing an unconscious Palmer being dragged by her leg not enough? Most terrifying of all, what if there hadn’t been a second video capturing the crime?

The public was rightfully outraged, but Goodell did not resign. He decided to wait out the storm. He decided that we don’t care enough about domestic violence to continue to care months, let alone years, later. Sadly, it looks like he was right.

Today, Goodell is still the NFL’s commissioner — the most prominent face of a league that is so much more to our nation and our culture than a business or a game. While Goodell’s employment is embarrassing for the NFL, it’s outright disgraceful for the fans. Through our complacency, we’ve allowed Goodell to remain at the helm of the NFL. We must demand more of the NFL. It’s time to show Goodell the door.

Though it is certainly the most shameful example, this isn’t the first time Goodell has landed in hot water. Goodell presided amid the lockout of 2011. Then, fans made their voices heard until the problem was fixed. Fans openly and loudly booed Goodell at the NFL draft and demanded his resignation until the problem was resolved. Fans made their voices heard.

This Thursday, Goodell will again take center stage for the NFL Draft. He will begin with the same tired spiel, as if nothing has changed. I don’t know whether the fans will boo or not, but they should. Goodell’s repugnantly weak rulings on sexual assault are not old news. As long as Goodell has a job, it’s our job to remind the league he shouldn’t.

Opinion articles written by staff members represent their personal views. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent WSPN as a publication.

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Opinion: It’s time to show Goodell the door