Roger Goodell would not precisely endorse Kaepernick’s kneeling protest during the U.S. national anthem, nor would he exactly condemn it. Instead, he leaned hard into the on-the-other-hand’ism. Literally.
The Associated Press
For the better part of three years, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tried to have it both ways when it came to Colin Kaepernick.
Goodell would not precisely endorse Kaepernick’s kneeling protest during the U.S. national anthem, nor would he exactly condemn it. Instead, he leaned hard into the on-the-other-hand’ism. Literally.
“I support our players when they want to see change in society,” Goodell said shortly after Kaepernick started kneeling in 2016. “On the other hand, we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL.”
If you inspect that statement, you see the difference between what Goodell seems to want to say (“I support …”) and what he knows he is expected to say (“We believe …”).
When NFL owners blacklisted Kaepernick, Goodell was the person who had to wear that decision. He never could manage to fit himself into it. In fairness, how could he? It’s difficult to repeatedly defend a position you cannot admit has been taken.
Watching Goodell flail about in news conferences and on TV, you almost started to feel sorry for the guy. Then you remembered that he gets paid about US$30-million, and you felt less sorry.
At the weekend, with the United States in tumult over the very thing Kaepernick was protesting, Goodell tried surrendering. He couldn’t manage that straightforwardly, either.
Goodell’s apology came in a statement from what looks to be his boathouse. I spent most of the video fixating on the ornate walls behind him and thinking, “Is that oak?”
He dressed in a sweatshirt, which I suppose is meant to convey homeyness or a new, relaxed attitude or something.
Remember how his strong belief in patriotism precluded kneeling before the Stars and Stripes? Well, not so much any more.
“We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest,” Goodell said.
When Goodell says “NFL players” he is, of course, speaking about one particular NFL player. But he could not bring himself to say Kaepernick’s name. That would create too great an expectation that Kaepernick will be rehired.
As such, the apology – if that’s what this qualifies as – has little moral force. The result is an after-the-fact equivalent of a “thoughts and prayers.”
“I personally protest with you,” Goodell continues. “And want to be part of the much needed change in this country.”
Whatever that means. Goodell out on the streets with his fist in the air makes about as much sense as Louis XVI inviting the Parisien rabble into his bed chamber. When people talk about systemic change, it’s the Goodells of the world they intend on changing.
In essence, this is the NFL’s declaration that it would like to switch sides in the culture wars. From now on, it is with the resistance.
(It’s yet to be determined if the resistance will have the NFL.)
If anybody’s taking the loss here, it isn’t Goodell. He’s been moving around the ring trying to slide into the winner’s corner for his entire career. This is another example of why he’s good at it.
It’s not exactly a victory for Kaepernick, either, in as much as he’d already won. That happened nearly two years ago when Nike created the “Believe in Something” ad campaign around him.
Nike made its billions by trending just ahead of popular culture. Endorsing Kaepernick was a bet against the influence of football. That bet just paid off.
Kaepernick doesn’t need to play the sport any more in order to get his points across. He’s built his own platform. Nike put up the bunting.
There doesn’t seem to be much point in returning to the NFL. Why would he want to be a second-string quarterback now, after all that’s happened?
The likeliest scenario here is that Kaepernick remains a full-time activist/shoe salesman, while Goodell takes 50 or 60 more tries at saying “Sorry.” The NFL as an institution will move forward because a) too many people make too much money off it and b) what else are you going to do with your Sundays?
The only person substantively injured by Goodell’s change of mind is U.S. President Donald Trump.
Football was Trump’s only safe harbour in the popular culture. It was the one milieu he would regularly risk presenting himself publicly, and have the expectation of a warm reception. Trump is not unlike Richard Nixon in that way, as well as a few others.
Kaepernick’s kneeling protest gave Trump an excuse to wrap himself in the flag when he was still campaigning for the White House. He’s returned to it repeatedly over the years.
He tried it on again last week – “There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American flag – NO KNEELING!”
Goodell’s statement came out a few hours later. This was the NFL telling Trump that while it still likes him as a tax cutter, it wants to start seeing people of other political persuasions.
As nearly all high-profile athletes turned on Trump, he could always point over to football and say, “Those guys still like me.” If you had a nickel for every time Trump name-checked his golfing buddies Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, you’d have a bunch of nickels. Wisely, Brady and Belichick avoided publicly returning those salutations.
That tentative amity is over now. The NFL has figured it’s better to upset a few Red State customers than it is to go to war with its own work force. Football just crossed the lines.
This feels important, though I don’t suppose we’ll know how important until November. It’s possible that in a few years time, we may be adding a new superlative to Kaepernick’s CV: “Fought City Hall. Won. In the process, helped take down the mayor.”
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
