The vast majority of the NFL ecosystem now recognizes that Tom Brady’s dual roles as Fox broadcaster and Raiders minority owner create a conflict of interest. The small minority of those who believe otherwise include Brady himself — and the man who once suspended Brady for four games due to alleged cheating.
MDS covered Commissioner Roger Goodell’s comments about the Brady brouhaha earlier today. Once I saw what Goodell said, I had to chime in, too.
Per Alex Sherman of CNBC.com, Goodell was “animated” in his effort to argue that no Brady conflict of interest exists.
“Where’s the conflict?” Goodell told Sherman. “He’s not hanging around in the facilities. We don’t allow that.”
They don’t let him “hang around” in the facilities because of the conflict. The steps taken to minimize the impact of a conflict of interest does not erase the conflict.
There’s only one way to remove the conflict: Remove the conflict.
For his part, Brady stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the conflict. He attributes criticism of the situation to “paranoia and distrust,” and he seems to believe that those who make a habit of spotting the various things that can undermine the integrity of the sport are sensitive to such matters because their own integrity is suspect.
Goodell has taken a more simple approach. But his argument is logically flawed.
There was a conflict. The NFL implemented rules to address the conflict. There is no conflict. We have always been at war with Eastasia.
There conflict still exists. But the league won’t do anything about it, in part because the league doesn’t want to admit that it created this mess by approving Brady’s partial purchase of the Raiders last October.
And if, as Goodell now says, teams don’t have to talk to Brady, we suggest that all teams take a page from the Marshawn Lynch playbook and offer one answer when asked questions during a Brady production meeting: “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.”
The debate continues to overlook the incredible value of being on the field before games. Players and assistant coaches won’t shun Brady; beyond the fact that he’s Tom Freakin’ Brady, he’s in a position to potentially give them future employment. They’ll talk to him, he’ll listen, and he’ll gather information that can be used (as Brady himself says) to return the Raiders “to the glory of those amazing years under Al Davis and John Madden.”
If that happens, that’s when the other owners will wake up. That’s when a critical mass of those who rubber stamped his sweetheart deal with Mark Davis will propose a rule that prevents Brady from participating in production meetings, talking by phone to players and coaches from other teams, and standing on the field during pregame warmups and taking mental notes.
Or maybe they’ll do what they should have done last year — tell him to pick a lane.
Broadcaster of all teams or owner of one.
