NFL Lockout Watch, Day 55: Players' Resentment Of Roger Goodell Growing

No matter how the NFL lockout and the "accompanying legal maneuverings are resolved," Commissioner Roger Goodell "will have a very real problem with the vast majority" of players, according to Michael Silver of YAHOO SPORTS. Goodell's standing "among the rank and file has clearly taken a massive hit." One player said, "A lot of the players hated him even before this went down, and now they really hate him. ... He never seems honest when he talks to you." Over the past few weeks, Goodell "has been called a 'joke' and a 'fraud'" by Ravens WR Derrick Mason and Seahawks G Chester Pitts, respectively, and there have been "plenty of unprintable insults from other players." Browns LB and NFLPA Exec Committee member Scott Fujita said, "Does he have a problem with getting the players' respect? Absolutely. No matter what happens, it might be tough for him to ever get that back." Silver noted from "glad-handing in locker rooms to meting out discipline, Goodell's post-settlement interactions with players figure to be awkward at best, and perhaps downright incendiary, for the foreseeable future." One thing "not helping Goodell is his image as a tough, no-nonsense executive." Goodell has been "refreshingly candid and edgy from the start of his reign, and his efforts to be inclusive of players and fans have been rightfully well received." On the "big issues like labor," former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue "had a gift for appearing as though he were firmly in charge of the league, even when he nominally wasn't." But Goodell "hasn't yet even come close to mastering that trick." Still, when asked if the fallout from the CBA situation could cost Goodell his job, one owner said, "Zero chance." The owner added that there is "near-unanimous support for the commissioner among the people running the 32 franchises and that Goodell has been 'absolutely great' before and during the labor crisis" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/4).

NO CHANGE IN PLANS: Goodell last night emphasized that Indianapolis will host the Super Bowl next season despite the labor uncertainty. Speaking during a 30-minute conference call with about 4,200 Colts season-ticket holders, Goodell said, "We look forward to being there. We look forward to playing in Indianapolis and we'll stand behind that commitment" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/5).