NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has come under fire for the last two weeks, from his initial bungling of the Ray Rice case to his disappearing act at a time when the league needs leadership.
But he’s now got more than a few influential owners in his corner.
“I think he’s doing a great job,” Jets quarterback Michael Vick said, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “I think some situations are more complicated than others. You’re not going to get it right all the time the first time. These situations that [have arisen] are situations that we never dealt with before. I feel from a PR standpoint, just from a situational standpoint, it’s kind of new to everybody.”
That opinion puts Vick at odds with many, who think the commissioner has screwed things up at every turn lately.
But Vick’s view is colored by his personal experience, as Goodell was helpful to his comeback from federal dogfighting charges.
“Nobody’s perfect,” Vick said. “Nobody can make the correct decisions right then and there on the spot when faced with all forms of adversity. So, you got to give the man a chance. You got to give him a chance. You got to give everybody a chance to get it right. And you see that the other teams that are dealing with it now are making the right decisions based on what’s happened in weeks prior. So you got to give people a chance, man. You’re not going to get it right on the first time.”
That much is evident. And Goodell can only hope he handles his next chance as well as Vick has his.