Goodell: I got it wrong, I’m sorry and now I will get it right

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 19, 2014, 3:27 PM EDT
AP

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged his own missteps and admitted that he needs assistance in overseeing the league’s personal conduct policy in a Friday press conference designed to stem the wave of criticism the NFL has faced over high-profile domestic violence cases involving players.

“I got it wrong in the handling of the Ray Rice matter and I’m sorry for that. I got it wrong on a number of levels, from the process that I led to the decision that I reached. But now I will get it right and do whatever is necessary to accomplish that,” Goodell said.

Goodell said that everyone affiliated with the NFL — both at the team level and the league level — will go through training to help reduce domestic violence. And Goodell said he hopes the NFL will become a leader in fighting against domestic violence throughout American society.

“These incidents demonstrate that we can use the NFL to help make change, not only in our league but in our society with respect to domestic violence and sexual assault,” Goodell said.

Goodell also acknowledged that the league office itself dropped the ball in investigating the Rice case, and he said the NFL will cooperate fully with former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s investigation of the matter.

“We will get our house in order first,” Goodell said.

The NFL is now pledging to work with outside groups and to work with the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The league has pledged to provide the resources the Hotline needs — resources that have been strained in recent days as domestic violence has become a topic of conversation around the league.

The arbitrary nature of the NFL’s personal conduct policy has also been criticized in recent weeks, and Goodell vowed to get that right.

“We will make it happen,” Goodell said. “We will implement new conduct policies. They will have a set of clear and transparent rules for league and club personnel, owners and players. My goal is to complete this by the Super Bowl.”

Goodell spoke forcefully and expressed confidence that the league can move forward.

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76 responses to “Goodell: I got it wrong, I’m sorry and now I will get it right”

  1. They want to “get it right,” just like the PR firm for the Vikings told us was important. I just threw up in my mouth from all of this.

  4. Goodell needs to be fired now.

    The NFL needs to be run by someone with real leadership and someone who makes great choices – Such as Zygi Wilf.

    Zygi Wilf already knows how to run the most prolific franchise in sports – The Minnesota Vikings.

    Petition to make Zygi Commish

    (check)

  9. That is kinda what the vikes said the other day. I wonder if the angry mob is going to reat the same way now?

    I really don’t like Goodell, but when you make a mistake you can learn from the past, but you can only move forward .

  10. #FreeGoodell

    The rest of you idiots can hate him all you want but Goodell is the best thing to happen to football in the last decade.

  15. Start with the handling of Little Ben’s case. All Steeler fans and the entire League should be embarrassed that this man still has a job. Being accused of sexually assaulting 3 women? That is called a pattern. Where there is smoke, there is fire. Stay Classy NFL and Steeler fans.

  16. This press conference is a sham PR stunt. The ship has sailed, Roger. It’s too late. Resign.

  18. Please stop saying the words “get it right”. What is it about the NFL that people latch onto sayings and certain words so hard. The worst ones I can remember recently are

    1) Get it Right
    2) Got Jobbed (referencing Seahawk’s fail mary)
    3) Stay Classy

  19. The problem here is that he is now suffering ( as well as the NFL ) for his God like policies ever since he took over as Commissioner. Being the sole judge and executioner may make him feel all powerful…but its a hell of a way to run a multi billion dollar organization. As Roger said during his Saints bounty witch hunt, ” ignorance is no excuse”. C’mon owners…dump this douche bag. No sponsor will ever trust him again.

  20. In other words, “please don’t investigate further and find out that I did indeed see the second video and have been lying about it since.”

  22. Rachel Nichols got roger goodell nervously licking his lips (like roger clemens) when she asked the tough question (that he sidestepped and avoided).

    Lispy roger goodell IS NOT qualified to be a commissioner.

  23. “Get it right. We will get it right. It’s time to get it right.” – Vikings terrible press conference.

    “Get it right. We will get it right. It’s time to get it right.” – Goodell’s terrible press conference.

    My suggestion? Get it right with a new P.R. company.

  24. All he is trying to do is keep his job.
    It took the public opinion and media scrutiny for him to realize he needs outside help with league punishment and other things but yet the players and NFLPA have been asking for this for a while now and he would let go of all power.
    Man needs to be gone. The NFL will make money whoever is the Commish is.

  31. What a joke of a press conference ! Rog sounds just as dumb as some of those knuckleheads! Not holding up to his standards

  33. You know, a lot of convicted criminals say, “I made a mistake, but now I want to make it right.”

    The difference here is that they had to pay a price. Roger Goodell makes $40,000,000 a year.

  34. I failed! I should keep my job cause I owned up to my mistake we need to get it right I failed lol – commish rog

  36. Watching Goodell take the heat for the owners is just getting old at this point.

    The only logical conclusion I can come up with as to why the owners still support Roger after the concussion gaffe in front of congress, destroying the tapes in the spygate “investigation”, how bounty-gate was handled, and how the Ray Rice situation was handled is because none of those decisions were Rogers to make. He does what the owners tell him to do and he is paid handsomely to take the fall for their bad decisions.

    And boy oh boy does the general public fall for it everytime.

  37. What a joke… “I got it wrong, now I’ll get it right… after hiding from everyone and avoiding responsibility for two weeks.”

  39. I’m a little tired of people outside of the NFL asserting their will and opinion over how things were done. I don’t believe there was any existing policy on what to do when a player beats his significant other. Just as there probably isn’t policy on a lot of other potential happenings such as Martian invasions. Sometimes you learn by doing or when it happens.

    And as bad as the tape was, Jennay Rice may have implored and begged and possibly indicated to Goodell that what happened in that elevator, though deplorable, was the climax of a very bad night for both of them behaviorally. And may have begged for leniency for Ray Rice.

    It’s not the NFL’s job to effect social change. Mostly because they aren’t qualified and there are way too many fronts on which to fight battles.

    We, as citizens, have to be careful to avoid a mob mentality and coercing entities into taking up our causes solely out of jealousy and hatred and because they don’t meet our standards on certain issues. The NFL’s job is to entertain us. They employ thousands of individuals. Some will misbehave. Get over it, people.

    Let me remind you that this league isn’t deaf to women’s causes. Pink anyone?

  42. A person just got tasered and dragged off while all the media prostitutes reading their scripted NFL approved questions laughed about it.

    The world would be a much better place with the taser turned on Goodell and the rest of these bloated parasites.

  43. Will the NFL require new players to fill out job applications and REJECT players based on arrest records just like every other employer in the US? In many of the cases over the 5 years if you hire criminals then why are you surprised at criminal activity?

  45. The Steelers are Marching. 7 rings. SFL 2015: restoring the game we created.

    If only that janitor hadn’t cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom before cops could get in there and do their work…Where would Little Ben be?..you should be ashamed.

  48. He also got the Saints Bounty Fabrication wrong, too. How is he going to make that right, after out-right lying about 50,000 pages of evidence that didn’t really exist? The man has no business being in charge of anything.

  49. The so-called “Independent” investigation is a sham and everyone with even half a brain knows it.

  52. He’s wrong, and he’s sorry, and now he’s going to do it right. So, goodell, in his infinite wisdom, puts welker back on the field as the first thing he does right.

    Either put everybody back on the field with a clean slate, or nobody, don’t pick and choose because they’re manning’s favorites.

  53. The head hunters are morons. If goodell suspended him indefinitely from the beginning the same people would be calling for his resignation because it was too severe! Get lives people.

  54. “I got it wrong more times than I can count or care to remember these last ten years or so, but Ive finally learned my lesson and it will all be good now”…………

  55. he said he understood that people would have to see actions rather than words to trust him.

    then when he could have addressed the first issue of trust, regarding the efforts to get the video prior to suspending ray rice, he deferred to mueller’s investigation.

    yet anyone with any sense understands that they already know what happened, and whether the disk arrived at park avenue. they are crafting a strategy to kick the can as far down the road as they can and let the public interest move along.

  56. ” admitted that he needs assistance in overseeing the league’s personal conduct policy in a Friday press conference ”

    Makes 30+ million/yr and he needs assistance.

  57. That’s great that Goodell “got it wrong” and now he’ll “get it right.” And it’s great that he’ll have Domestic Violence procedure. But what is the next? Child Abuse? Oh wait….

    The problem is that is no procedure for any criminal arrest. Sexual assault? DUI? Illegal Drugs? Gambling?

    Everything is done on a case by case basis to how they are feeling that day. There needs to be procedures that be followed for any criminal arrest, perhaps based upon the severity (a felony is worse than misdemeanor). And it also needs to be clear what is the procedure when someone is arrested as opposed to being convicted. I’m all for the innocent before proven guilty mantra, but unfortunately it’s not that simple.

    If they had a procedure to investigate and discipline, most of this could have been avoided. Hopefully they put a procedure in place.

  58. Roger, pay me to run the training for all 32 teams.

    Training: “Reduce Domestic Abuse”

    9:00am – Welcome (coffee and doughnuts provided)
    9:05am – Don’t hit women/children
    9:06am – Hand out completion certificates

  60. BREAKING: Roger Goodell announces indefinite suspension of the Pittsburgh Steelers, saying “I got it wrong, allowing the Steelers to wear those godawful striped throwback uniforms in the last two seasons and I’m sorry for that. I got it wrong on a number of levels, from the process that I led to the decision that I reached. But now I will get it right and do whatever is necessary to accomplish that,” Goodell said.

  61. How about putting players charged w/ a crime on the Exempt list w/o pay.

    If and when they are cleared, they get a lumpsum payment of all back pay and are immediately reinstated.

    A player convicted would forfeit his guaranteed money and cannot be signed or employed by team in the NFL for 24 months OR earn no more than league minimum for 4 seasons.

  64. So a player can be fined for doing things on the field even if it’s not intentional or a reflexive reaction but yet nothing happens to Bad-hell? Seems like there should be potential consequences to keep him in line. When he screws up he just throws up his hands and says, “My bad!” and moves on. Its good to be the king.

  66. The NFL Commissioner is beholden only to the owners. The marketing spin that he has the interests of the fans, communities, or even the sponsors at heart is just that, spin. The commissioner as father figure, the sheriff, the “buck stops here guy” is nonsense. They don’t pay him $44MM a year to look out for anything other than their financial interests. Those financial interests, due to the backlash from key sponsors who pay the league (directly and indirectly) ungodly amounts of cash, government officials that are threatening the NFL’s not-for-profit status and the curtailment of subsidies to cover capital and operating expenses of stadiums, and to a lesser fans, are at risk so Goodell gives us a mea culpa. It’s about as sincere as the Catholic Church’s response to the child sexual abuse scandal.

  67. Commish: “I’m sorry i made a mistake” “I need to get back to work and make this right”…….so all these players need to do is apologize and they are good to go?

  69. What changed since last week prompting this press conference? Oh, that’s right, sponsors got mad.

    Don’t act like you called this press conference for any other reason than to pubicly plead to sponsors.

    Last week he couldn’t have cared less that fans were calling for his head.

    Coward.

  70. Goodell heads a trade association, an appointed position (not one earned through the ranks or through entrepreneurialism), and makes $44MM per year. Why? According to Nate Silver, “the NFL is still a hugely profitable business, and even poorly run franchises tend to make money because of the league’s aggressive revenue sharing and relatively favorable contractual agreements with players. According to Forbes, only the Detroit Lions lost money in 2013, and the league’s 32 franchises earned a collective $1.7 billion in operating income.” For you non-accountants, operating income (net operating income) is after operating expenses, including player salaries and overhead.

  72. Do the much younger and less educated players who made a mistake also have an opportunity to make it right?

    What they did is totally wrong but why ruin there careers?

  73. “…and now I will get it right.”
    ——————————————————–
    LOL Whatever.

  75. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (hopefully it doesn’t get deleted).

    As the article above correctly stated… “Goodell also acknowledged that the league office itself dropped the ball in investigating the Rice case”

    So the commissioner and the league admit to mishandling this situation.

    But, their mishandling of the situation hurt the “Shield”.

    The commissioner and they league punish, fine and suspend others for hurting the “Shield”.

    Will the league and/or the commissioner punish or fine themselves?

    Players, owners etc… don’t expect the league and the commissioner to do things that result in having sponsors pull their ads and revenue from the NFL

  76. After thousands of fans went to social media to call me out about Josh Gordon getting a season and Ray Rice getting 2 games I decided that I made a mistake. And I’m sorry for that.

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