Roger Goodell opens up about the much-needed conversation he had with his Black nephew
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was watching an episode of former linebacker Emmanuel Acho’s digital show, “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” when he realized something about his own life.
He needed to talk with his nephew, Charlie.
‘We’ve got to make this world better’
Goodell sat down with Acho for a two-part series that aired on Sunday and Monday. They discussed a number of topics in the digital show, including former quarterback Colin Kaepernick and protesting by kneeling during the national anthem.
Early in the show on Monday, Goodell watched a segment from an earlier episode that featured a multiracial family and children being both scared and saddened when seeing Black people being killed by white people in the news.
24 PHOTOSRoger Goodell through the yearsSee GalleryRoger Goodell through the years
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell answers questions during the Reuters Media Summit in New York November 29, 2006. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES)
NFL chief operating officer Roger Goodell, wearing a traditional Japanese robe, welcomes players and fans toanNFL 2005 American Bowl party at the Tokyo Dome Hotel on August 4, 2005.(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Roger Goodell, the executive vice-president of the NFL, speaks at a news conference in Mexico City to announce the league’s first regular season game outside of the United States, July 15, 2005. The San Francisco 49ers will play the Arizona Cardinals on October 2 this year at Mexico City’s Azteca stadium. REUTERS/Andrew WinningAW/DY
The new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (L) shakes hands with retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue after Goodell was named the league’s new chief executive in Northbrook, Illinois, August 8, 2006. REUTERS/John Gress (UNITED STATES)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (L) and New England Patriots Chariman and chief executive officer Robert Kraft laugh before the start of a game in Foxboro, Massachusetts, September 24, 2006, while announcing that the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will play in the first NFL game in China. The game will be played August 8, 2007. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (UNITED STATES)
Roger Goodell (C), the new Commissioner of the NFL, talks with a group of officials before the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 7, 2006. REUTERS/ Jason Cohn (UNITED STATES)
First pick by the Detroit Lions and second pick overall in the 2007 NFL Draft, Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in New York April 28, 2007.REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell answers questions at a news conference in Tampa, Florida, January 30, 2009. The Pittsburgh Steelers will meet the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL’s Super Bowl XLIII football game on February 1. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES)
Quarterback Matthew Stafford from the University of Georgia stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Detroit Lions as the number one overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York, April 25, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL)
Roger Goodell, National Football League Commissioner, testifies before the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce committee on “The NFL StarCaps Case: Are Sports’ Anti-Doping Programs at a Legal Crossroads?” on Capitol Hill in Washington November 3, 2009.REUTERS/Joshua Roberts(UNITED STATES POLITICS SPORT FOOTBALL)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell walks along the sidelines during the pregame warmup of the NFL’s Super Bowl XLIV football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts in Miami, Florida February 7, 2010. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES)
NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell (L), U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and former Colts coach Tony Dungy (R) huddle during flag football with children to promote the first lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign to fight childhood obesity in New Orleans, September 8, 2010. REUTERS/Cheryl Gerber (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS SPORT EDUCATION HEALTH)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell departs after a day of negotiations with players association representatives in Washington March 8, 2011. The two sides are seeking an agreement as the deadline looms for a player lockout. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst(UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS)
Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson (R) speaks to the media as National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell listens during a news conference after the NFL owners meeting in College Park in Atlanta, Georgia July 21, 2011. NFL owners voted on Thursday to approve a new collective bargaining agreement with players, paving the way for an end to a lockout that has left America’s most popular sport in limbo. REUTERS/John Amis (UNITED STATES – Tags: EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS SPORT FOOTBALL)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks at a press conference before the Super Bowl XLVI NFL football game in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 3, 2012. Super Bowl XLVI between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants is set for play on February 5. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES- Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)
Dallas Cowboys Jason Witten (R) holds the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award after it was presented to him during the NFL Honors award show in New Orleans, Louisiana February 2, 2013. From left are Payton’s children, Jarrett and Brittney Payton and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. REUTERS/Jeff Haynes (UNITED STATES- Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL ENTERTAINMENT)
Eric Reid from Louisiana State University holds his daughter as he stands on stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the San Francisco 49ers as the 18th overall pick in the 2013 National Football League (NFL) Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York April 25, 2013. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (R) speaks beside New Jersey Governor Chris Christie during a news conference at the Boys and Girls Club of Newark Clubhouse in Newark, New Jersey January 27, 2014. The event was held to announce the NFL Foundation’s grant to the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committee’s Snowflake Youth Foundation to fund charitable projects throughout New York and New Jersey. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS SPORT)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks at a news conference to address domestic violence issues and the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy in New York, September 19, 2014. Goodell said on Friday that rules governing personal conduct will change, signaling a major shift in policy in the wake of the league’s poor handling of domestic abuse cases. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (L) arrives at the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in New York August 31, 2015. New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady and Goodell are due in a Manhattan federal court to discuss litigation over Brady’s four-game suspension. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Oct 31, 2015; London, United Kingdom; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at the NFL International Series Fan Forum at the Institute of Education. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Carson Wentz (North Dakota State) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles as the number one overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a press conference at Moscone Center in advance of Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 22, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on the sidelines prior to the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers in the 2017 NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY SportsUp Next
See Gallery
“It’s just sad that somebody might do that to people that look like me or Amus just because out of hatred of our skin color,” a girl said on the show while fighting back tears.
Goodell looked a bit shaken up as he watched that clip on a tablet, a rare sight from the league’s commissioner.
“Seeing somebody live in that kind of fear is just not right,” Goodell said. “We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to make this world better, because it’s just not right.”
He said that segment made him realize that he needed to talk to his brother’s son, Charlie, who is Black — something he said he didn’t really recognize before.
He never thought that the fear the children in the video had was something that Charlie could be feeling, too.
Goodell: NFL won’t discipline players for kneeling
Goodell and Acho again talked about players protesting during the national anthem, something that was heavily discussed in the first part of the series.
Goodell was asked in the interview that was released on Sunday what he would say if he had the chance to apologize to Kaepernick directly.
“The first thing I’d say is I wish we had listened earlier, Kaep, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to,” Goodell said.
He insisted on Sunday that when players kneel in protest during the national anthem this fall — dozens of players have already committed to doing so — that the league won’t discipline them in any way.
That, he said, would simply be wrong.
“We have never disciplined a single player for anything with the national anthem and in violation, and I don’t intend to,” Goodell said. “I will support it … I don’t think [disciplining them] is the right thing to do.”
Source: Read Full Article