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Better than Good example
New NFL commissioner is wasting no time in getting things right, and we can only hope others will take notice and follow his lead
Oh, if only every American executive was as decisive, gutsy and accountable as Roger Goodell. That way, we wouldn't have to endure the verbal diarrhea of Don Imus, Mike North and other violators of good taste and responsible humanity. Slaps on the wrist aren't effective deterrents to racial, ethnic and gay slurs, which is why a two-week radio suspension for Imus won't stop some other idiot in the media and sports worlds from spewing another sickening slur soon enough.
But Goodell, in only his eighth month as commissioner of the NFL, has seized immediate command of his kingdom by sending one of the potent social messages of the early 21st century. Tired of the criminal element in his league, he has launched an unprecedented crackdown by pulling the ugliest weeds from the manure of an otherwise lovely garden. It would have been simple for Goodell to imitate his passive predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, and take a laid-back approach to the likes of Pacman Jones, Chris Henry and, eventually, the jailed Tank Johnson. He could have rested on the laurels of a hugely profitable league, with its staggering TV revenue and transcendent popularity, and swept the oversized police blotter under the FieldTurf.
Instead, he delivered the knockout punch so sorely missing in the deplorable case of Imus, who should have been fired after his hateful remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Encouraging as it was Wednesday to see MSNBC pull the cord on Imus, the firing involves only the televised simulcast of his nationally syndicated radio show that originates on New York sports-talk station WFAN-AM. As long as the crusty ogre with the cowboy hat has a live radio mike and high-profile forum, he will win.
And we will lose.
There is no gray area in the Goodell edict. Either a player adheres to the NFL's high behavioral standards, or he will forfeit his job and every penny of his contract. And if a particular franchise doesn't take its watchdog role seriously and becomes one of the league's problem spots -- hello, Halas Hall -- it, too, will be punished with the loss of draft picks and other perks. The ''shield,'' Goodell calls the pledge. Why don't all other walks of employment life, including the media business, adhere to such a shield?
''We must protect the integrity of the NFL,'' Goodell said. ''The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone ... because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. The players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis.''
Still no reins on North
The media world is filled with its own version of problem children. Perhaps they aren't criminals in a legal sense, but they certainly are menaces to society. They've been allowed to dabble in hatred through the years because, somehow, their shtick has driven ratings and profits for stations. Imus is a sick puppy, with a laundry list of slurs against virtually every conceivable ethnic and racial group. But not until he referred to the Rutgers players as ''nappy-headed hos'' was his act widely opposed nationwide. Even then, his bosses didn't announce a suspension until pressure had been created by major advertisers and black leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who have had their own issues with slurs and should be classified as hypocrites.
It's probably no coincidence WFAN is owned by the same conglomerate, CBS Corp., that owns WSCR-AM in Chicago. This might explain how North, currently the morning man at the station, has survived an embarrassing series of ethnic and racial putdowns -- remember his ''Hug a Black'' and ''Hug a Jew'' Days? -- that reached a head last year when he slurred former Cubs pitcher Jae Kuk Ryu. The practice should have been stopped by station officials years ago. If nothing else, it should have been stopped when White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, co-chairman of Major League Baseball's Equal Opportunity Committee for years, took his club's broadcasts to WSCR.
But Reinsdorf embraces North like a son during their frequent interview sessions, which seems to endorse North's behavior the same way political and media figures endorse Imus by continuing to appear on his show. Reinsdorf also failed to respond responsibly when his manager, Ozzie Guillen, dropped two homophobic slurs in less than a year, preferring to refer to me as ''a piece of garbage'' after I was targeted for one slur. It was a horrendous moment for the Sox and their image, yet without firm crackdowns by people in power, potty mouths will ramble on in all professions.
It's no less appalling to see a certain selectivity regarding which loudmouths we punish and which we ignore. Why so many double standards? Shouldn't all slurs be rejected equally? If Imus had used a homophobic slur, I'm guessing there wouldn't be nearly the outcry. He has slurred gays, Jewish people, Native Americans, you name it -- and even made fun of Janet Reno and her Parkinson's disease. But not until now, when he ridiculed a hard-working group of college athletes, did the whip come down on Imus. It should have come down years ago.
Nation needs more Goodells
The country is losing its collective mind, it seems. And too often, the controversies and crises that stir our debates involve sports and media. Shouldn't many Americans, following the lead of many media, be ashamed for rushing to judgment in the Duke lacrosse case? Exonerated or not, the accused players will live with this stain the rest of their lives and weren't helped when the school failed to issue an early statement of public support. It's more important than ever to be responsible and grounded as a country swirls wildly -- and I'm not talking about how Sox pitchers are faring or whether the Cubs can play well in the cold. What every boardroom needs is a Roger Goodell. ''It's important that the NFL be represented consistently by outstanding people, as well as great football players, coaches and staff,'' he said. ''We hold ourselves to higher standards of responsible conduct because of what it means to be part of the National Football League.''
Can the man be cloned?
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