“Fire Goodell!” This is one extremely common phrase that has become increasingly popular in the recent past. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League, decisions have become more and more controversial as his career progresses. The 32 team owners in the NFL elected Goodell, previously the executive vice president, as their new commissioner in August of 2006. Although he has previously been supported by the 32 owners, he is slowly losing it. There are also many players from the NFL Player’s Association, as well as die hard NFL fans, who believe he should be replaced. Many people complain about unfair suspensions when evidence is not shown or punishments that are not harsh enough for the offense. There is also poor communication between the league and the teams/players. Despite the negatives, Goodell has also done a lot to benefit the league. He has begun to make the game safer and has more than doubled the profits of the league. There is still huge debate over whether or not Goodell should keep his job or be fired.

People around the National Football League question the methods and decisions of the commissioner and believe he is doing more to hurt the league than help it. During the past few years, people have wondered why elite quarterback, Tom Brady, was suspended four games for cheating accusations as a part of Deflategate, especially after an elite running back, Ray Rice, was only suspended two games for domestic violence when he beat his girlfriend.

To add fuel to the fire, a league attorney admitted there was not a sufficient amount of evidence to suspend Brady. Ipswich High School senior, avid football fan, and player, Billy Koshivas, believes that, “Roger Goodell lied about Deflategate and used it to try and push his socialist agenda down the throats of the NFL and America in general.” Along with Billy, many football players and fans believe that Goodell treats different players and teams unequally. There is countless evidence that a convicted criminal, Ray Rice, had a lesser punishment than an innocent Tom Brady. Billy explained how Goodell treats his players unfairly, saying, “Tom Brady then proceeded to beat Goodell at his own game and embarrassed him in the court of public opinion and legal court of law. Brady clearly exposed that deflategate was an inside job planned before the game, yet Roger Goodell used his power as supreme dictator to reverse the original ruling in court which was originally in Brady’s favor.”

There is proof that Goodell abused his power as commissioner, which is not good publicity for the NFL. NFL quarterback Drew Brees agrees with Billy. He is also a victim of unfair punishment handed down by the NFL.  When asked about recent suspensions, Brees said, “Too many times, I’d say especially over the last few years, a punishment has been handed down and nobody has really seen the evidence except for those in the league office — supposedly.” Goodell must work with his executives to help solve these problems recognized by the fans, players, and media before the league takes too big of a hit. The television ratings for this season are already down 11% and many believe it is because of issues such as deflategate which give the league a bad reputation. In order to protect the NFL’s success, Roger Goodell must end the controversy and put the focus back on the talented teams and players.

With all of the downsides from Roger Goodell’s time as NFL commissioner, he has done some good to the NFL throughout his tenure.  One positive so far that has occurred in the NFL is their policies and treatments dealing with concussions.  The NFL has created a concussion protocol that players and coaches must follow when a player “may have gotten a concussion during the game.”  The player must be taken off the field if they believe the player may have a concussion.  The player is taken to the sideline and goes through various tests and if he is cleared he can return to the game.

These new rules have tremendously decreased  the amounts of concussions in the NFL.  They protect the players and make sure they are 100% ready and safe to return to the game.  Along with these in-game precautions, they NFL has implemented rules for organizations who do not follow concussion procedures and regulations.  Teams who do not follow any of the concussion rules will be fined thousands of dollars by the NFL.  Not only could a team face fine(s) by the NFL, they also could face the possibility of losing a draft choice for upcoming years.  Another positive result from Roger Goodell has been games in other countries.  The NFL has started playing games in other countries over the past few years.  This year there were four games in London and one game in Mexico City.  We  believe this is good for the NFL to get other countries involved with the NFL and potentially bring football to areas where football is not very prominent.  This is also good because it brings excitement to the NFL and its players.  It lets the players play in a new environment and explore other parts of the world they may have not been to before.  Overall, Roger Goodell has brought some positive additions to the NfL regarding player safety and bringing the NFL to different places around the world.

Given all of the negativity that surrounds the league, the debate over whether or not Goodell should be fired rages on. There are those who see the inequality and mistreatment of players and want him gone, as well as those who see the huge profits and safety regulations. Billy Koshivas believes that “Roger Goodell is not good for the NFL; he is basically running a dictatorship.” The players, also employees of the NFL, do not have enough say in how the league is run. The commissioner abuses his power and leads like a dictator. Billy says, “As people of the free world, we generally value qualities like freedom, justice, and democratic republics. However, this man is going against every single American ideal ever created.” Goodell took away freedom by suspending players and coaches who were innocent. He took away justice by not punishing convicted criminals with enough force. Billy strongly believes that Goodell does not run the American franchise in an American fashion. Billy explains Goodell’s shortcomings, known to the public, and broadcasted by the media. Based off of the shortcomings, Roger Goodell should lose his job as commissioner and leader of the NFL. The negatives of his actions significantly outweigh the positives he has added to this league and a new commissioner of the would make the league a better game to watch and enjoy.