NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is an inept fool. This has been public knowledge for quite some time, as the commissioner’s resume is filled with safety violations, negotiation failures, and clueless policies regarding domestic violence cases. However, this is the last straw. Following his complete mishandling of the Tyreek Hill situation, NFL owners have no choice but to fire Roger Goodell and bring in a new commissioner.
NFL will not discipline Chiefs’ WR Tyreek Hill, who was accused of assaulting his son. League could not find evidence he did; it will leave open case if further evidence emerges, but Hill is free to report to camp, practice and play this season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 19, 2019
Roger Goodell Has to Go, NFL Owners Need to Act
Tyreek Hill should not be in the NFL. On March 5th and March 14th, police arrived at Hill’s residence to investigate reports of child abuse and battery of a juvenile. These reports were about Hill’s three-year-old son, who suffered a broken arm.
Hill won’t face criminal charges for this act, and the DA reportedly believes the broken arm to be an accident. However, that doesn’t make Tyreek Hill “Father of the Year.” The DA fully believes that “a crime has occurred”, but they couldn’t charge Hill because “the evidence does not conclusively establish who committed the crime”. This aforementioned crime relates to other child abuse, as police investigators reportedly found Hill’s son covered in bruises and welts. The DA could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hill caused the bruising, so he won’t face charges. This leaves us with one of two options: either Hill administered the blows, or he did nothing to stop his wife from abusing the son. Either way, this is not a good look for Hill.
Some may cite an 11-minute tape as a reason for Hill’s exoneration but listening to the entire recording doesn’t paint him in bright light. In the tape, Hill states that he would never hurt his son, even though he admits to going too hard later in the recording. Espinal mentions that she and Hill had gotten into a fight over how Hill disciplined their child, and that “even the [Child Protection Services] lady says you didn’t do it correctly.” Hill doesn’t dispute this and even says that he “will listen” to CPS. This implies he crossed the line in his “discipline” of the child, and Espinal says their son is “terrified” of him. Hill counters by calling it “respect”.
Additionally, Hill and his lawyers created just enough doubt to avoid charges. Hill’s lawyers denied the charges a week later, releasing the following text messages between Hill and Espinal:
Hill: “Crystal you know I didn’t cause any bruising or harm to [our son.] But for some reason I still may be charged.”
Crystal: “I know you didn’t. I did, I hurt [our son.] I’m the one that did it. I was hurt and mad at you so I blamed you for everything.”
Ignoring the fact that this is the most staged, unnatural, and inorganic text conversation of all time, it is enough to keep Hill out of the hands of the law. This creates reasonable doubt, as now either party could be the abuser. With the law unable to act, the NFL needed to step up.
Roger Goodell Fails Yet Again
The law of the land is innocent until proven guilty, but the NFL follows no such policy. The NFL issues punishment as they see fit, and won the right to do so when Tom Brady took the league to court in the DeflateGate saga. Either through his actions or inactions, Tyreek Hill is in the wrong and should be punished accordingly.
However, Goodell is a creature of habit and once again came up short. This isn’t Goodell’s first failing with abuse cases, as the NFL has become synonymous with disciplinary failures in situations like this. From Ray Rice to Greg Hardy to Kareem Hunt and several more in-between, the NFL has consistently made the wrong decisions and botched these situations in just about every way imaginable. Goodell had a chance to help fix his reputation, yet his incompetence further showed why he’s unfit for the title of Commissioner. He consistently harms the league’s image and fails to deliver adequate punishment, and NFL owners need to act immediately.
Not Hill’s First Offense
If any player doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, it’s Tyreek Hill. Hill is objectively a terrible human being and a menace to society. This isn’t up for debate. Even if you don’t believe Hill did anything wrong to his son, nobody can deny what happened in the winter of 2014.
While still at Oklahoma State, Hill was arrested for punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend, Crystal Espinal. There is no gray area in this case, as Hill pled guilty to the charges. Espinal walked into the emergency room after the incident with bruises and cuts on her face and neck.
If you believe that the released tape somehow changes this fact, then you’re blind to both reality and reason. In the textbook definition of gaslighting, Hill adamantly claimed he was innocent and didn’t do anything wrong. However, in that same tape, he said he “picked [her] up and put [her] out the door” and gave no explanation for how she got those bruises. Additionally, just a few minutes later, Hill says “you need to be terrified of me too, bitch”. That statement in itself constitutes abuse, so there’s no reason for anyone to believe Hill isn’t lying about that night in 2014.
Hill was sentenced to three years probation, fined $500, and signed a statement saying “I was in a fight with my girlfriend that turned physical between us and I wrongfully put [her] in a headlock, putting external pressure on her neck that compressed her airway causing bodily injury.”
Hill doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, and there’s no reason for him to still be in the league. Alas, the NFL is run by an incompetent buffoon lacking either the competence or moral compass necessary for the job. This has gone on long enough, and NFL owners need to act. It’s time to fire Goodell and start over with a new, better commissioner.
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