The NFL players have spoken regarding their Commissioner. According to USA Today, 61 percent in a poll conducted from December 19 through January 12 disapprove of Roger Goodell’s job performance.
The poll has a 5-percent margin for error.
“I think it’s obvious that I disapprove,” Steelers linebacker James Harrison said. “I feel like what he’s doing is not totally for the safety of players. . . . A lot of stuff they’ve done, [such as] fining guys crazy amounts of money for helmet-to-helmet hits and all that and saying you’re doing this for the safety of players. But yet you want to add extra games to the regular season.
“In the true interest of player safety, I would have no issue with it. But that’s not what it’s about. It’s about money. Who hired Roger Goodell?”
The fact that he was hired by -- and ultimately works for -- the owners speaks more to the ongoing divide between labor and management, despite a labor contract that lasts eight more years.
The only real surprise is that the percentage of disapproval wasn’t higher.