What have been the NFL's biggest public relations problems in its history?
 

Honestly, I'm trying to get amped up over this Ray Rice deal, but it doesn't seem bigger than a lot of other stuff they've had to deal with over the years, and some other stuff seems bigger. Off the top of my head, I can think of...

The concussion issue and guys like Mike Webster and Joe Phillips
O.J. Simpson
Rae Carruth
Jovan Belcher (though that got scant attention the more I think about it)
You had the Hornung/Karras gambling suspensions back in the 1960s
The defections of players to the WFL in the 1970s
The AFL/NFL wars
The USFL tussles

I'm sure I'm missing a bunch.

It seems to me that the O.J. thing dwarfed everything else in scale, though of course most of that deflected off of the NFL shield since he'd been out of the league for so long. So what's the biggest impact that the NFL shield has taken?

Ray Rice for sure. Most of those other things were issues with players that didn't really reflect all that negatively on the league itself, other than the concussion thing. This situation though, has shown total amateurism on their part to properly deal with a situation. It's also exposed their punishment and suspension system to be a complete crap shoot, and their commissioner to be the total dumbass that he is.

Spygate.

Not the worst thing a player or other employee has done by a long shot, but the league itself looks really shitty right now.

Concussion thing is probably worse though. This is getting a bunch of run right now, but it's tough to say how lasting the effects will be. Especially if the league is proactive and cans Goodell.

! You left off the Broncos cheating to win the Super Bowl.

All the pink shit on uniforms for a whole month. It was never about breast cancer awareness, it was always about emasculating a sport men love.

Jeez. It's been a long day, obviously.

Michael Sam not making an NFL roster :(

Timmy Tebow sucking :(

This wouldn't be such a big deal except that Josh Gordon got suspended for a year while rice got suspended for peanuts and you have to think the NFL knew about it. Goodell is a ****ing clown. It's almost like he spins a wheel to determine punishment.

No female players or coaches :(

The new defensive pass interference rules. If Roger Goodell came out and admitted they were trying to grease the wheels for Peyton Manning to win a championship I would give him a tiny bit of respect.

Bringing a franchise to Kansas City :(

nb4 poll?

It doesn't matter. People talk about it then it falls off the map for the most part with the eye being focused back onto the field of play. That is the power of the NFL in the US.