“NFL–Under Seige”

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A week away from the Super Bowl,  the biggest game of the year, the NFL is in the midst of a very big scandal.

The NFL appears on the brink of falling into the abyss of wrong doing, this time involving the owners in Miami and Cleveland.

This after the Rams owner, and the NFL, had Stan Kroenke delivered a check  on Christmas Eve, for 790M to the city of St Louis for damages in violations of the NFL relocation rules as the Rams moved to LA..

And this bad look of news, comes two weeks after a former San Diego City Attorney filed a damages lawsuit against the NFL and all its owners for violating relocation rules in the move of the Chargers after the 2016-season.

And history tells us how the NFL paid nearly 1B to settle the Concussion lawsuit for head injuries suffered to former players, as far back at the 1950s.

The double edged assault on the NFL this week, in a 48-hour period, is staggering.

Brian Flores attack on the NFL’s failures to carry out the Rooney Rules to the letter, stings, considering how many African American coaches have interviewed for jobs.  He called the way he was treated was a sham

A survey showed there were 8-black head coaches hired in 80-years in the NFL from 1920, led by  Fritz Pollard, up till 2000.  Since the Rooney Rule was activated in 2003, there have been 23-minorities hired as head coach.

Flores insinuations that the interviews he went thru were ‘shams’ is pretty strong.

But then the followup scandal, even more explosive, that Miami’s owner Steven Ross offered 100,000-per game bonus checks for every Dolphin loss as the team tried to get the first pick, that turned out to be Joe Burrow, who wound up going to Cincinnati with the top pick.

It might be ‘he said-they said’ but Flores lawyer says they have evidence of the conversations, and the followup scorn from staff members that Flores received when he rejected the premise of taking money for losses.

Then deposed Browns head coach Hue Jackson, just hired at Grambling, says he has documentation of bonus money the Browns put in his bank account, and the accounts of 3-execs, at the end of two back to back horrid seasons.  He also has a game plan prepared by that front office, that detailed the plans to lose games, strip the roster of older players, get younger, and stockpile high draft picks, all in the midst of a (1-31) purge of credibility to rebuild the team.

Money and power corrupt people.  Jim Haslam, the Browns owner, and Steven Ross of Miami, are rich and must believe thay can operate their team anyway they wish, even if it is over the line of moral decency.

Fascinating to see the NFL’s quick response that they will open these investigations.  This coming on the heels of the disdain for the league office probe of Daniel Snyder’s toxic culture in operating the Washington Redskins franchise, fraught with losses, and sexual harrassment issues lasting a decade.

All that good news of the excitement of the AFC-NFC playoffs, wild card weekend, the divisional games and last weekend, have been pushed to the background.  The record TV ratings, rocketing to galaxy highs, won’t be discussed going forward.

Emerging from the shadows now, plenty of sleaze for a probing media to sink its teeth in.

The Super Bowl is the last game of the season.  Guarantee you we have not heard the last of this controversy the NFL has just had thrown at its front steps on Park Avenue.

Don’t think Roger Goodell will have much time addressing the Rams-Bengals game, So Fi Stadium and the like.

Look for more damaged coaches to come front and center, attach their names to all these suits.  Wonder how big a check the NFL might have to write now over these latest scandals..

The game will go on.  The damage to the league’s psyche and image, will not end.

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