Will Goodell's Ideology Trump Sound Business?


The NFL has been the goose that keeps laying the golden eggs for many years now. It surpassed baseball long ago as the premier sport and America's favorite pastime. With the Colin Kaepernick story continuing to make news and several players and teams kneeling or refusing to honor the United States flag and national anthem, the NFL is finding itself in murky waters. Commissioner Goodell hasn't helped matters and by standing with the players and calling out President Trump he has aided in alienating the fans even more. Goodell is a progressive and thus that ideology overrides what is best for business and the fans.

When ideology trumps business, more often than not it becomes the death knell for that business. Very rarely do businesses overcome that. Chick-fil-A was an exception to this back in 2012 when they got into the same-sex marriage debate. The progressive movement targeted Chick-fil-A and tried to shut them down but were surprised to find the conservatives and the silent majority respond by coming out in mass numbers to support and give them increased business. The boycott by the liberals had a complete opposite outcome than they imagined.

But the case of Goodell and the NFL are different. They are gambling that most people will love their football more than politics. It is a risky gamble with a severe downside. Goodell's myopic progressive view fails to see that the majority of the fan base are fed up with politics slipping into their entertainment choices. For most, football is the escape from this mad world in which we live. It provides a few hours of fun and heartache as we watch our favorite players and teams and root them on to victory. By the players and Goodell jamming their particular political correctness views into our faces they rob us of that escape from the world.

The question becomes who holds the power here. The fans ultimately hold the trump card if they choose to use it. If the conservatives and the silent majority respond like they did in the Chick-fil-A case and have a mass movement to send a clear message of disgust with the NFL and Goodell, then this could become an interesting and intriguing story. If fans quit going to games, quit watching games, and quit buying the NFL merchandise they begin to put a bit of a financial scare into the owners. The owners are currently negotiating an extension on the contract of Roger Goodell to remain commissioner. That could be in jeopardy if fans revolt against the NFL and various owners find they care more about the business model and their pocketbooks than politics.

Hollywood has found out that mixing and promoting politics with your entertainment business is not a wise choice. Hollywood continues to double down on choosing ideology over good business. Roger Goodell and the NFL should look at Hollywood and ask if that is the road they wish to travel down. If they answer yes and choose to double down on being just another political entertainment show then they might just find more empty stadiums and less money in their coffers. Choosing progressive ideology over sound business is one sure way for the NFL to kill that goose that keeps laying those golden eggs.

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