Aaron Johnson – Sports Editor
Hip-hop legend Nas once wrote that all he needed was one mic, one beat, and one stage to have his face on the front page. Pretty sure NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not a fan of Nas. The whirlwind that the now infamous “trapped in the elevator” tape of Ray Rice and his then-fiancé Janay Palmer has created is unlike anything that the NFL has ever seen before. Well actually maybe they have seen the tape, we don’t know anymore.
Obviously Rice was in the wrong. There can be zero tolerance for what he did, no matter the context or the situation. However, the disturbing news reported by the Associated Press earlier last week shows that the NFL also screwed this one up. When the league came out and suspended Rice for two games, it put a negative spin on an even worse situation. But Goodell suspended Rice based on the evidence he claimed that the league had, which did not include the video from inside the elevator. Now we know that to possibility be a lie.
The “smoking tape” has changed everything. Rice has been suspended indefinitely and cut by the Baltimore Ravens. His image is forever tarnished and the NFL is being looked at as possibly trying to cover the entire situation up. Several unnamed team owners, who had a hand in hiring Goodell, have been quoted saying if the allegations that the league did in fact have possession of the tape that Goodell will lose any support he now has.
Goodell has been an unpopular commissioner with players since he took over for Paul Tagliabue in 2006. Often described as being “judge, jury, and executioner,” Goodell may in fact be asked to resign if the reports that the NFL had the tapes since April. Goodell has been a subpar commissioner on many fronts. He has done some good, especially with concussion prevention, but this Rice situation may end up being his downfall.
