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Roger Goodell is a big fan of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.
Those words came directly from the mouth of the NFL Commissioner himself. Goodell was in Cleveland earlier in the week, and when asked about the Browns owner and his efforts to build a winner in Cleveland, he bubbled over in enthusiasm.
Goodell stated, “I’m a big fan of Jimmy Haslam and what he’s doing.” And if that wasn’t enough of an endorsement, he continued, “This is Browns country. I think they’re fortunate to have Jimmy Haslam as an owner, and we’re fortunate to have him as an owner in the league.”
I think we need a timeout on the field.
Let’s summarize Haslam’s tenure as the Browns owner.
Haslam stated that he drafted Johnny Manziel because a homeless man told him to do it. He’s gotten rid of coaches and general managers like toilet paper on the bottom of your shoe. Josh Gordon has continually had issues with the league, and the Browns have done very little to work to help the embattled wide receiver. Oh, and the league is currently investigating their GM Ray Farmer for illegally texting the Browns’ sidelines during games.
You are spot on, Rog. Jimmy is doing one heck of a job.
But wait, there’s more. Let’s not forget that Haslam recently had to pay the federal government $92 million in an agreement so Haslam wouldn’t have to go to jail. As part of the arrangement, the federal government would agree not to federally prosecute. Why did he have to pay such a hefty sum? Well his chain of truck stops, Pilot Flying J, had been defrauding customers by promising fuel refunds and never paying them. The FBI had investigated him and discovered that he had been doing this for seven years, costing trucking companies millions of dollars over the length of the scam. Haslam built an empire off a scam like this that garnered him so much wealth that he was able to buy the Browns and become an NFL owner.
With all this on the table, Goodell wants us all to know he is a big fan.
I understand that Goodell is a mouthpiece for the owners, so criticizing them publicly is not something he’s going to do. But why give Haslam an endorsement? He could easily speak to the fans of Cleveland and talk about the direction of the team and how they have a bright future in his eyes without mentioning Haslam.
Haslam still could face more lawsuits from customers who were defrauded by him, and he has already had to pay out $56 million in individual settlements. Is this really the guy Goodell wants to have publicly endorsed?
Goodell can’t seem to steer the ship straight. We know how horribly he botched the Ray Rice investigation. He has a potential powder keg on his hands again with the rumored Dez Bryant video, and now he’s endorsing an owner who defrauded his customers and runs his football team like he is playing fantasy football with his high school buddies.
You could make the argument that Goodell and the NFL should strongly be encouraging Haslem to sell the team and get him out of a league that has suffered too many black eyes recently. But instead, Goodell wants the city of Cleveland to know that he is Haslam’s No. 1 fan.
Bill Zimmerman is a featured NFL writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
