Longtime NFL reporter Vito Stellino had some critical words for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a recent interview, saying he did not know if the league has "the right leadership in place," according to Jenny Vrentas of THE MMQB. Stellino, who has covered the league for 51 years, the last 15 as the Jaguars beat writer for the Florida Times-Union, said Deflategate is a "great example of the difference" between Goodell and former Commissioner Pete Rozelle. Stellino said, "We don’t know what happened in Deflategate. There’s no evidence anything did happen. ... They should have issued a statement the day the Colts complained, saying, 'We have never tested balls at halftime in a game and we don’t know what happens in cold weather. We’ll look into it next year.' Everybody would have forgotten about it. Instead, they turned it into this unbelievable thing that they are still appealing. Now the NFL is comparing it to the 1919 Black Sox." He called Rozelle, who was commissioner from '60-89, a "natural leader." Stellino said of Rozelle, "He had a great sense of, We work for the teams, the teams don’t work for us. With Goodell, it’s like the teams work for him. ... [Rozelle] was into the football. Goodell is into the marketing and all this other stuff. There’s never a sense of what’s too much. Now, nothing is too much. He wants to play 18 games. He’s been very slow on the concussion issue, which is still a major problem. And then, of course, so many things like Deflategate; and Bountygate."
LEAGUE FACES SOME PROBLEMS: Stellino said, "You have to focus on the right things. Like all
these games in London. They make a lot of money, but you are taking away
home games from your core audience in America. Meanwhile, you come down
to Florida for the Jaguars, Miami and Tampa Bay, none are selling their
stadiums, and with red zone channel, you can stay home and keep up on
every game on TV and you don’t have parking problems, inflated prices,
drunks in the stands. They should be more worried about the experience
in the U.S. They keep saying, well, it is going to grow the games. Is
it?" Stellino talked about the state of the NFL, saying the league has "got some problems." He said, "When people would rather stay home and watch on TV than go to the stadium, that’s a problem. Making mountains out of molehills like Deflategate and Bountygate. Taking home games away from teams to play these games in London. And the way they’re handling this L.A. thing, now they’re talking about deciding next March, just keeping everything in limbo, then talking about two teams. That would be the worst idea, to have two teams out there. Fifty years later, the Jets still aren’t as big as the Giants in New York. You are going to dilute the fan base. Why don’t they just make the thing work in St. Louis?" (MMQB.SI.com, 11/13).
