Report: Roger Goodell 'Really Bothered' By Matt Patricia's Clown Shirt
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Way to go, everybody. You've gone and upset the NFL commissioner.
Shame on you.
All the man ever did was love the league, stand up for the integrity of the game, and launch a two-year all-out assault on your football franchise, sparing no monetary expense and dedicating as much time as necessary to declare his authority over your franchise and your Hall of Fame quarterback.
And how does he get repaid? How do you show your appreciation?
With loud, mean boos. And clown T-shirts.
Oh, the humanity.
According to CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora, Roger Goodell was very upset to see his face sporting a clown nose on the T-shirt of Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia in the wake of the Patriots' Super Bowl LI victory.
From La Canfora:
"The T-shirt really bothered him," according to one ownership source who had been in contact with big wigs at the league office. "The fact that [Robert] Kraft didn't stop him from wearing that ticked some people off, but did they really think he's going to protect Goodell after all of this?"
Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not let Goodell see this picture:
Please, delete this photo from the internet! Delete it right now!
And, goodness me, do not let him see this video of Rob Gronkowski:
And -- really, please -- do not let Roger know about Brady's celebratory commercial, which ends with an overly harsh and over-the-line statement of "Roger that."
Don't tell Roger about any of that. He would be very upset!
La Canfora also reported that Kraft remains a proponent of removing Jeff Pash from the NFL executive office. Pash, executive VP of the NFL, was the one who operated in the shadows of DeflateGate, serving as the unofficial "editor" of the "independent" Wells Report prior to its release to the public.
It's not surprising that Goodell is upset. Last week at his annual "state of the NFL" press conference in Houston, he stated multiple times that the NFL's evidentiary findings were vindicated in a federal appeals court. In fact, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals only affirmed Goodell's authority to punish players as he sees fit; the two judges did not determine that Goodell's collection of evidence was bulletproof. And, in actuality, every physicist and engineer who was not being paid by the NFL and who weighed in on the accusations deemed the NFL's "evidence" to be fatally flawed.
(On a humorous note, the outlet Barstool Sports was banned from receiving credentials to all Super Bowl events. The reasons, among other things, include four employees getting arrested for protesting at NFL headquarters in 2015. When asked about Barstool's ban from NFL buildings during Super Bowl week, Goodell cried ignorance to the entire matter. Well, the maker of that Goodell clown shirt is none other than Barstool Sports. Roger has likely learned of their existence by now.)
Nevertheless, Goodell won in court, and he apparently wants to be praised for his victory. Patriots fans -- and coaches -- aren't letting him have their way.
It's almost as if they've been paying attention.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
