Rice to Rescue NFL?

[David Guyatt]

Blimey! I'm lost for wards for one.

Backing for Condoleezza Rice to take over scandal hit NFL

High powered backing for former Secretary of State to rescue America's most popular sport

Calls grow for Condoleezza Rice to rescue NFL Photo: AP









By David Millward, US Correspondent

6:42AM BST 15 Sep 2014



Support is growing for a campaign to draft Condoleezza Rice as Commissioner for the troubled National Football League (NFL).

American football, the country's most popular sport and a bastion of macho male culture, has suffered one of the worst weeks in its history with three high-profile stars facing accusations of domestic violence.

The crisis has led to calls for Ms Rice, a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan, to step in replace the beleaguered Roger Goodell as Commissioner.

As far back as 2002 Ms Rice described becoming NFL Commissioner as her dream job.

Now she is getting serious backing, including from former members of the Bush administration, for taking on the task of rescuing a sport whose image has taken a severe battering over the last seven days.

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Earlier this week the Washington Post carried a piece by a member of its editorial board calling for Ms Rice, 59, to take over from Mr Goodell, who has come under fire over his handling of the domestic violence scandal which has engulfed the sport.
Politicians and women's groups were enraged by the NFL's decision to impose what they regarded as an inadequate two match ban on Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens' running back who knocked his fiancée out cold in the lift of a New Jersey casino.
He belatedly received an indefinite ban after footage of the incident was released by TMZ, a gossip website.
Mr Goodell insisted NFL officials had not seen the incriminating tape when the original ban was imposed.
This has now been disputed and several senators have called for him to step down.
"If he lied to the American people, he has to step down," said Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat senator for New York.
The Mr Goodell's plight was worsened when the indefinite ban was attacked by Rice's wife the victim of the original assault who took to the social media to back her husband.
The Washington Post did not mince its words in condemning Mr Goodell and backing Ms Rice.
"Roger Goodell has made a mess of it. Time for the former Secretary of State with an intense love of the game to step in and save the NFL," the Washington Post wrote.
Others to advance her cause include Karl Rove, George W Bush's deputy chief of staff.
"I think Condi would succeed in any job she had, as she did when she was national security adviser, Secretary of State, Provost of Stanford, etc," Mr Rove said.
"If it's a job she wants, with her encyclopedic knowledge of the sport and passion for the game, I have no doubt she'd be great."
With the row over Rice showing little sign of abating the sport was hit by two more allegations of domestic violence
On Friday one of the biggest names in gridiron, Adrian Peterson, a running back with the Minnesota Vikings, was indicted by a Texas grand jury for beating his four-year old son with a stick.
He was "deactivated" or dropped from the team over the weekend as was Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers.
Hardy was left out from the side after being found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend by a district judge in July, although her is appealing the verdict.
Should Ms Rice get the post, she will not be the first politician to take on a high profile role in sport.
In Britain Lord Mawhinney, who was a member of John Major's cabinet, became chairman of the Football League in 2003.

[Kenneth Kapel]

Ms. Rice was a disaster as National Security Advisor and as Sec. of State, she will not save the NFL which is on the crest of folding. Maybe in 10 years because of its health/spousal/child abuse. The child abuse arising from the Adrian Peterson case.

[Lauren Johnson]

Blimey! I'm lost for wards for one.

Condi? You think they can't any dumber? The NFL hired the former head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, to head up the investigation of the sexual assault scandal by Ray Rice overseen by two NFL owners!!

In case you don't know what this is all about, Ray Rice, a prominent and much loved NFL star, was caught on surveillance video knocking out his fiance, who by the way, married him the next day! He was arrested and largely got off from criminal charges if he went into some anger management program. The Commissioner of the NFL is now in trouble for his job because the video of what happened inside the elevator just now leaked out on TMZ.

[Magda Hassan]

Dear lord. The video of the violent elevator misogynist made it to here but I hadn't heard about Condi Rice as the NFL saviour. Is some one suffering a relevance deficit since they left Washington? Since she was involved in bringing the world to the brink, the death of millions, the destruction of whole countries and people and debasing the system of international law what could possibly go wrong?

[Magda Hassan]

Further contemplation on why the fuck Condi Rice would ever be considered to save the sport (unless she has a secret life as an elite athlete that I am unaware of) I think this is just a ruse to take the heat of the rampant violence and corruption and stupidity currently within the administration. Maybe like her last role in government.

[David Guyatt]

Blimey! I'm lost for wards for one.

I love that film. Absolutely hilarious.

Btw, I should have typed "Blimey! I'm lost for words for once". Somehow, between my synapses and fingers on the keyboard an unauthorized intervention took place.