He followed that up by suggesting the league is hypocritical for promoting alcohol during game broadcasts while trying to keep the game pure of pernicious child-polluting evils like fun celebrations.
And he followed that up with an extended broadside directed at NFL side judge Brad Freeman after Washington’s tie in London, saying, “Who’s 88? I gotta know. I just gotta know. Who’s official 88? He sucked. I just gotta be honest with you. I’m just going to be honest with you. I’m going to be straightforward. He was terrible. I feel he should be reprimanded.”
It’s been a while since Norman went after Goodell, though. Fortunately, the Associated Press recently surveyed some prominent players about what they would do to improve the oft-criticized league. And Norman had some ideas.
“Simple: Get the people who are in there out,” Norman told Howard Fendrich. “Whoever’s making the rules, just get ’em out. We have a new president; have a new NFL commissioner.”
Norman, as Fendrich noted, has already been fined more than $75,000 this season, and he added, “I hope I don’t get fined for that.” But he also had more to say about the league office.
“The game has been this way for 100 years. Why are people in the [league] office trying to change it?” Norman asked. “What are you trying to make better? Why touch the game? . . . Change the staff. We changed the president; let’s change them, too. There should be a number of years you can run it. There should be a term limit in the NFL.”
#DrainTheSwamp, in other words. Except New York isn’t a swamp. Uh, #DrainTheConcreteJungle, then. Goodell, for what it’s worth, took office in 2006. So yes, he definitely outlasts just about every U.S. president.
Meanwhile, there has been a suggestion in some parts that NFL officials might be keeping an especially close eye on Norman because of his outspoken critiques. Arguing that the league should term-limit Goodell out of a job definitely will make that suspicion go away!