Kraft: Goodell believes respecting 'the shield' starts with owners

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While Jim Irsay's case is being mulled over by the NFL and Mr. Goodell, people wonder if his punishment will be greater or less than that of the players in the NFL. Personally, if his punishment is less than that of a players, I will be quite angry and my hatred for Roger "I run the NFL so I can do what I want" Goodell would grow to astronomical levels.

But according to Johnathan Kraft, from an interview he had with Ben Volin, Irsay could be seeing quite a large punishment:

“I can tell you that since Roger Goodell became commissioner, the first thing Roger said to the room after he had gotten elected was that the NFL shield is the heart of our organization, and that all of us have the responsibility not to besmirch it, and that starts with the owners. If you don’t carry yourself in a way and represent your business in a way that the public as a whole would deem as appropriate, there are going to be issues that affect your fellow partners. And that’s where I think these commissioners really do have a responsibility to make sure that the collective good is being maintained.”

This is encouraging to hear. While Irsay's actions have not been as extreme as what we've recently witnessed in the NBA with Donald Sterling, I would expect the NFL and Goodell to make sure they lay down the law. I'd expect Irsay to be suspended from games and have to pay a pretty handsome fine.

No one is above the law. Or at least the law of the NFL.

- Pete Rogers
@ftcsports
@petahrahgas