Attorney to Challenge Goodell’s Powers
Roger Goodell has ruled with an iron fist since taking over as the commissioner of the NFL in 2006. In that time, he’s come down on the likes of Adam “Pacman” Jones, Chris Henry, Tank Johnson, and Adam “Pacman” Jones (again). But the rulings he made were seen as a little harsh by some and now an attorney with ties to the NFL wants to see Goodell’s power reigned in.
David Cornwell, a sports attorney and finalist to take over the NFLPA, says that Goodell has too much power, and he is proposing the league appoint an independent arbitrator to rule on penalties that have been handed out by Goodell. Cornwell says that the league needs independent oversight, and would like an arbitrator to have the power to overturn rulings made by the league.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Cornwall said:
“The notion that public relations drives or justifies draconian and unfair disciplinary actions is simply misplaced and we will no longer accept it. We have the legal right to negotiate these policies … and we are going to exercise that right to get independent review of the commissioner’s decisions.”
For a man that Business Week called “the most powerful man in sports,” don’t expect any changes to the way Goodell rules to come easy.
Cornwell is the attorney that successfully fought the NFL last year over failed drug tests that led to suspensions, getting a judge to block the suspensions, ruling that the league had prior knowledge of the positive inducing ingredient in supplements, but failed to tell the players.
The union will select its new leader on March 15, and if it is Cornwell, he would like to have the NFL institute an appeal system similar to the NBA and MLB’s systems. Currently, the NFL commissioner is the sole ruler of suspensions in the league, something that Cornwell would like to see changed.
While having an appeals process is nice and I wish Cornwell well, I would much prefer to see him focusing the union on things like benefits for retired players.
But I like this idea. The knowledge that a ruling can be appealed is likely to create a fairer system of punishment.
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