Deflategate… Yet another issue surfaced this summer in which Roger Goodell attempted to bring down his reign of terror.  

    After New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was accused of slightly deflating footballs during the 2015 AFC Championship Game, Goodell suspended him for 4 games.  Brady appealed in federal court and the judge ruled that Goodell’s evidence and claims were not credible and the suspension was overturned. If Brady was guilty NFL rules state that doctoring the balls results in a 75,000 dollar fine not a four game suspension. This just marks another instance of Goodell abusing his power.

    A common term the past few years surrounding the NFL has been the “No Fun League.” It has been coined by fanatics of the league who are sick of Goodell for several reasons. The latest may be the last straw for NFL owners as there have been rumors swirling about relieving Goodell of his position. “Certainly he would be held accountable for intentionally misleading people and taking actions to cover his tracks.” a high-ranking executive stated.

    The latest event is just one of many as Goodell has made decisions on significant cases that have been overturned in a neutral court of law.

    Former MVP Adrian Peterson was accused of beating his son with a switch. This made nationwide news and blew up the sports world for multiple weeks. Roger Goodell suspended the Vikings running back for the whole 2014-2015 season. This shouldn’t have been allowed because the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) states that first offenses involving domestic violence amount to a six game suspension

    Former Ravens star running back Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely which means he wouldn’t be allowed to play until he was reinstated by the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Rice was originally suspended for two games until Goodell lengthened his punishment. Goodell changed his ruling because of public backlash when a video surfaced of Rice striking his fiancee in an elevator knocking her unconscious. Another inconsistent ruling by the commissioner. When Rice appealed his suspension he won in federal court because there was no new evidence that would result in an increase from the original suspension and it was brought back to the original two games.

    There is also the Greg Hardy case which relates to domestic violence. The former Panthers defensive end was found guilty in federal court for assaulting his former girlfriend. After being placed on the exempt-commissioner’s permission list(The player is out for the whole season but still receives his salary) Hardy missed the whole 2014-2015 season.

    The controversy starts this year as Goodell suspended Hardy for ten games of the 2015-2016 season which again violates the CBA. Already being out all of last season, Hardy appealed his suspension and brought it to court. A neutral arbitrator reduced the suspension from ten games to four. This was third suspension ruling within a few months that was reduced and even though these players made bad decisions Goodell has ruined their name.

     Roger Goodell has handled these cases horribly and many fans are calling for the commissioner to be fired. Senior Jake Morran said, “Goodell has been inconsistent which leads to the questioning of what is actually right and wrong.”