The microscope of the sports world has been firmly fixed on Roger Goodell this week. Fay Vincent knows the feeling.
Vincent, the commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1989 to 1992, was tasked in 1991 with determining punishment for Lenny Dykstra after the Philadelphia Phillies star was involved in a drunk-driving accident.
Vincent sees the parallels between his dilemma and that of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has been a lightning rod for criticism over his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence situation.
“He’s in the fight of his life,” Vincent told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Rice’s initial punishment (a two-game suspension) and the controversy that has since ensued over whether or not Goodell and other NFL higher-ups saw the video of the running back striking his then-fiancée before making their decision has led many to call for the commissioner’s job. Goodell can change this public perception, Vincent says, but he must work to do so.
“The politician acting on principle still has to sell his case,” Vincent said. “For the next month or so, Goodell has got to be out in the public, making his argument, articulating his principles. If he made a mistake, he has to explain why, what he learned. …
“If he wins the fans, he wins the game. And if he loses the fans, he loses the game.”
Rice was cut by the Ravens this week and suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
