Report: Marshall Was Saying Hello To Goodell When Pictured In Commissioner's Suite
(CBS) In a surprising sight, Bears receiver Brandon Marshall was pictured on national television sitting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during the fourth quarter of Sunday night's Super Bowl between the Patriots and Seahawks.
It quickly led to the question of, why was Marshall in Goodell's suite? On Monday, we got our answer.
Marshall had a nearby suite and just "stopped by to say hello," the Chicago Tribune reported, citing a league spokesman. While it was rather odd for an active player who has a long history of domestic violence arrests to be pictured with the commissioner in such a situation, Marshall and Goodell have a previous rapport.
Marshall has previously discussed mental health issues with Goodell and how the NFL can help out. Marshall himself has suffered from mental health issues, and he has a foundation that promotes awareness for such problems.
Marshall has previously spoken highly of Goodell, including during a bizarre Sept. 18 press conference in which he addressed domestic violence.
"I started a conversation with Goodell in February (2014) at the Super Bowl and I was one, I just wanted to use the NFL's platform to push my agenda and my cause (of mental health awareness)," Marshall said in September. "We set up a meeting and we didn't get to that until June, July. When we sat down and met, it was interesting, because there was probably 10 people in the room and we were talking about systems and programs and how we can help our guys, how can we implement different things and what did I do to change my life? And at the end after four hours sitting there with them, talking about all these cases, he kicked everybody out the room and it was just me, him and Troy Vincent.
"He had tears in his eyes. He said, 'Man, how can I help Josh Gordon? How can I help Davone Bess? How can I help these guys? We have this Ray Rice situation.' He really was concerned. He really cared. That's when I really gained a lot of respect for him. Because a lot of time we think of damage control. Or we're trying to do this to protect the shield, but I gained so much respect for Goodell, even after everything. I met with Goodell twice, and it wasn't pretty. This time was great, and I really appreciated that. Because he cared about our guys, he cared about our community and he kept asking me, 'What is the call to action? What is the call to action?' And I'm like, 'Man, the call to action is just to talk about it. We just need to create healthy conversations.' But he wanted something tangible, something people can go to and really wrap their hands and hears around it and really get help. I really respect the NFL for that."