Scandals abound in the NFL

The NFL is once again grappling with several scandals and commissioner Roger Goodell will have his work cut out for him in the coming weeks.

Tuesday, at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the league, the big boss of the NFL commented on three thorny issues: Deshaun Watson, the owner of the Washington Commanders and the pursuit of coach Brian Flores.

Goodell initially said he didn’t give himself a timeline on whether or not to punish the Cleveland Browns quarterback over sexual assault allegations.

Earlier this month, two Texas state grand juries declined to file criminal charges against Watson in the case. The pivot, however, is still under investigation by the NFL and must also face 22 civil lawsuits by his alleged victims.

“Our staff are working on [l’enquête], said the Commissioner at a press conference. These are very serious allegations. We are looking at them seriously. […] Our decision will be made by a Disciplinary Officer who was jointly selected by the NFL and the Players Association. He will make his decision when the facts are known and we will see. There’s no time limit for that. »

An annoying owner

As for Commanders owner Dan Snyder, the NFL has opened another investigation into new allegations of workplace misconduct involving him.

Following an initial investigation into a toxic climate within the organization, the circuit imposed a $10 million fine on the Washington club and Snyder was forced to hand over the day-to-day operations of the team to his manager indefinitely. wife, Tanya.

« Dan Snyder was not involved in his team’s operations and I don’t believe he was in the offices of his team. [depuis la punition], Goodell said. We are continuing our investigations. Tanya represented the team for our annual meeting. This will continue for the foreseeable future. Dan and I will talk to each other eventually.”

The pursuit

Finally, Goodell touched on the subject of the lawsuit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores against the NFL and three of its teams for practices he deems racist.

Flores claims in particular that he was involved in a fake interview with the sole purpose of complying with the Rooney rule. The latter, implemented in the NFL in 2003, requires that each team seeking to fill the role of head coach, coordinator and general manager, interview at least one candidate from a visible minority.

On Monday, the NFL announced that its teams are now required to hire at least a minority or a woman as an offensive assistant.

Goodell believes this will eventually allow his circuit to develop a more diverse pool of candidates for his head coaching positions. He made sure to separate this new initiative from the Rooney rule and also clarified that the investigation into Flores’ allegations had been handed over to his colleague Mary Jo White.