With 49ers co-Owner Eddie DeBartolo pleading guilty to
a felony in LA last week, many in the media are speculating
how NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will handle DeBartolo's
quest to return as the team's operator. In N.Y., Phil
Mushnick called DeBartolo's plea one of the "biggest stories
of the year," but that it "has been relegated to either zero
coverage or two-paragraph status by virtually every form of
sports media, national and local" (N.Y. POST, 10/12).
DEFINING MOMENT? In Boston, Ron Borges wrote that
Tagliabue "faces the crisis that could define him." Borges:
"If he does ban DeBartolo, Tagliabue knows a lawsuit will
likely follow. Then again, if he does little or nothing,
the next time he tries to discipline a player for gambling
or some other illegal action, he'll find another battery of
lawyers waiting for him" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/11). In New
Orleans, Josh Peter wrote that if Tagliabue "has any sense
of timing or courage -- and we're not suggesting he does --
he'll be in New Orleans [on Sunday during the 49ers-Saints
game] and announce that the league has ordered" DeBartolo to
sell the 49ers. Peter said that NFL has never taken the
gambling issue lightly, and "In light of those actions,
allowing DeBartolo to keep his team would constitute a clear
double standard" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 10/11).
