Roger Goodell and the art of ‘saying nothing with empathy’

Explicit content warning

02/10/22 • 16 min

On this special episode of The Long Game with LZ & Leitch, LZ and Will dissect NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s much anticipated “State of the League” press conference in the wake of former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the league for allegedly racist hiring practices. They explain why Goodell is a PR person’s dream, examining everything from his hand gestures to his facial expressions. They also identify the question that made him noticeably uncomfortable and the answer that was the most insulting, concluding that the NFL is not yet ready for meaningful change.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Burrow vs. Stafford and the best QB narrative, why L.A. is not yet an NFL town, and the league’s cynical response to the Brian Flores lawsuit

On this episode of The Long Game with LZ & Leitch ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, LZ and Will delve into all things NFL. They talk about which of the dueling quarterbacks has the more compelling narrative — the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow or the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford; whether Los Angeles is an NFL town now, given it’s home to a Super Bowl contender (oh, and the Chargers); and break down the league’s insincere reaction to former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit, including purely coincidental (yeah, right) head coaching interest in Lovie Smith. The hosts end the show with “This Week in Sports History” and Aaron Rodgers’ surprising playoff futility, and also take audience questions concerning how the Flores lawsuit will resolve and what to expect ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

Join us for our next livestreams on Twitch, twice this Wednesday from the Super Bowl in Los Angeles – at 12:30pm ET and 5:15pm ET.

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Next Episode

You've never heard of the most important player in NFL history

On this special episode of The Long Game with LZ & Leitch: You've never heard of the most important player in NFL history. In 1946, Kenny Washington became the first Black athlete in the modern era to sign an NFL contract, joining the Los Angeles Rams and breaking the color barrier a year before his former teammate at UCLA, Jackie Robinson, did the same in Major League Baseball. Today few people know the full story of the man nicknamed “Kingfisher.”

To discuss Washington’s legacy, Will and LZ are joined by Super Bowl champion and ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson; Newsday football columnist Bob Glauber; and Kenny Washington’s grandson, Kraig Washington. The panel also talks about the NFL’s ongoing issues with race and Keyshawn explains why team owners, who are almost exclusively white billionaires, aren’t interested in hiring Black head coaches.

Johnson and Glauber are the co-authors of “The Forgotten First: Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, and the Breaking of the NFL Color Barrier” — a book about the league’s first Black players.

Watch The Long Game with LZ & Leitch Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 1pm ET at twitch.tv/therecount. And listen out for our next podcast, which drops on Wednesday, Feb. 16.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.