Saints coach Sean Payton gave his season-ending press conference today, and he didn’t hide his disappointment about the bad call that went against his team in the NFC Championship Game. But he did hide a subtle message, on his undershirt.
Payton was wearing a quarter-zip shirt with a T-shirt under it. And eagle-eyed viewers noticed something odd about that T-shirt.
Look closely, and the shirt is one that shows NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell looking like a clown. It’s the same shirt that Lions head coach Matt Patricia wore when he was defensive coordinator of the Patriots, a clothing choice that had Goodell miffed at Patricia.
Payton’s choice of shirt was a subtle nod to the Saints fans who are livid with the NFL, both for the blown call and for Goodell’s lack of a public response. At least, it was subtle in the moment. Once people noticed what he was wearing, it became a shot across the bow at Goodell for what Payton -- and many others around the league -- view as a failure of leadership.