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| Roger Goodell, relaxing at home after a hard day at work |
The funniest thing to come out of the replacement ref fiasco
has not been any of the on-field stuff, hilarious as that has been. It has not
been the overblown bloviating by the chattering classes, nor the hysterical
overreactions on Twitter (some of which veered off into deeply ugly, hateful
bullshit). No, it’s been those noted labor economists at places like ESPN
trying to spin this thing so that Roger Goodell comes out of it as some kind of
hero, or, failing that, a victim.
Look, anyone who thinks the lockout was about anything other
than Goodell trying to punish the refs for standing up to him is delusional.
The money involved is, in the grand scheme of things, minimal. Dan Snyder
pisses away more than that trying to bully Washington free papers in a given
weekend. No, this was about power and control, and nobody in the NFL has more
of either than Roger Goodell. The guy is Sauron, the all-seeing eye dispatching
Nazgul to swoop down and fine players unexpectedly for inappropriate towel
lengths. You’re going to tell me that in the face of a labor dispute that
threatens to undermine both the product the NFL puts on the field and, more
importantly, its relationship with Vegas (anyone who doesn’t think the rise of
the NFL isn’t directly attributable to a combo of gambling and fantasy sports
is delusional), Roger Goodell was suddenly impotent, waiting on the command of
those same owners he bullies and fines to cut a deal equivalent to a single
game’s concessions take?
Please.
It was a power play. And for once, Goodell lost. Everything
else is just spin.
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