Josh Norman’s rivalry with Odell Beckham Jr. is one of the NFL’s fiercest, but he might have one brewing with commissioner Roger Goodell, too.
The Washington Redskins cornerback is on the upcoming cover of ESPN The Magazine, which also features a pretty interesting feature on the polarizing defensive star.
While the magazine hasn’t been released yet, The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg published an excerpt from Kevin Van Valkenburg’s feature, which includes an interesting tidbit about Goodell.
“Spend any time around Norman and it’s easy to understand how he became one of the NFL’s most interesting, and polarizing, players. Riding in an Uber past the Eiffel Tower and during hours of idle conversation over the next two days, he offers thoughts on everything and everyone, including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (“Horrible. He’s straight horrible.”), the league’s crackdown on big hits (“What happened to us? Society is so soft.”) and Washington’s nickname (“Redskins is not offensive to me. I’m part Native American on both my mom’s and my dad’s side. It’s kind of a funny thing, though. A redskin playing for the Redskins.”).
Now that he’s out of Carolina, he feels even less constrained. The Panthers wanted him to tone down the trash-talk, and he reluctantly complied. But in Washington, there are no such restrictions. Yet. In that sense, this season sets up to be either the next step in Norman’s ascendance or a huge mess. He knows that every comment might open him up to criticism, but he’s not holding back. As he has said: “That’s just not me, man. I’m not fake.”
If Norman brings those takes to his new pre-game commentary gig for FOX, he’s going to be must-see TV.
Thumbnail photo via Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports Images
