Willie Colon Alleges Roger Goodell Reads Newspaper During Meeting On Social Issues

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- The NFL met with several players on Tuesday in an effort to try to turn the national anthem protests into positive social change. By many accounts -- including that of commissioner Roger Goodell -- it was a very productive meeting.

But according to former Jets and Steelers offensive lineman Willie Colon, the meeting was a grand waste of time.

Appearing as an analyst on SNY, Colon said that people who were present for the meeting said that "nothing got done."

"It was pretty much a waste of a Tuesday, a day where the players -- this is their off day, and they felt like nothing was accomplished," Colon said. "The owners just want this [protest situation] to go away, but they don't know how [to make it] go away. They don't know how to put out this fire."

Colon said that as soon as the topic of Colin Kaepernick was raised at the meeting, "they went straight to a bathroom break and it wasn't even talked about."

Then, Colon said that Goodell couldn't even bother to pay close attention to the meeting that was happening around.

"I was told that Roger Goodell, who was in the meeting, was actually reading the paper," Colon said.

When asked to clarify, Colon specified, "He was on his computer reading The Boston Globe."

As Colon put it, "I've been trying to tell the world, the owners run the NFL -- not Roger Goodell."

It was newsworthy analysis in its own right, and it stood out even more, considering Goodell made a 90-second statement to the media after the meeting. In that statement, the commissioner spoke in generalities about "the issues in our communities" and said the meeting "was very productive and very important."

"I think we all agree there's nothing more important than trying to give back to our communities and make them better," Goodell said. "That was the entire focus of today."

Well, that and the Boston Globe.

In:
• NFL
• Roger Goodell