[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

I don't think Goodell ever had to tell them anything. They just knew what was expected of them, and what they'd better do if they want to remain on the "all star" crew.

I still want to know how that all star status is designated. If Goodell has any input over ref promotions or perks, it's a clear chance for him to wield influence - again without ever even saying it out loud.

Did Goodell get the ref fired earlier this year (another unprecedented move)? Nothing sends a message like firing someone every now and then.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.bus...oodell-2013-10

Goodell the Dictator always got something up his sleeve.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell "had a hand" in the power outage that delayed the Super Bowl for 34 minutes last February.

The Ravens were up 28-6 in the third quarter when the lights at the Superdome in New Orleans went out. The 49ers went on a furious comeback when play resumed, narrowing the gap to 28-23 before Baltimore pulled away for good.

Suggs told ESPN that the blackout was a ploy:

"I was like Vegas, parlor tricks, you know what I mean? I was like, ahh, Roger Goodell, he never stops, he always has something up his sleeve. He just couldn't let us have this one in a landslide, huh?
"I thought he had a hand in it. Most definitely, he had a hand in it."
Officials said a shoddy relay - a device designed to protect the building from a power failure - caused the outage.

Suggs isn't the first Raven to call it a conspiracy.

Last month ESPN's Ray Lewis told an NFL Films documentary that it can't see how the blackout wasn't pre-planned:

"... You cannot tell me somebody wasn't sitting there and when they say, 'The Ravens (are) about to blow them out. Man, we better do something.' ... That's a huge shift in any game, in all seriousness. And as you see how huge it was because it let them right back in the game."

The main takeaway here is that players don't trust Goodell. Since he became commissioner he has had an antagonistic relationship with players. When they view him as dictator who abuses his own power, conspiracies like this are going to inevitably pop up.