While NFL commissioner Roger Goodell isn’t winning over many people in New England for his handling of Deflategate, he does have one influential NFL owner backing him up.
Jerry Jones, the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, defended Goodell on Wednesday over his decision to uphold New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for his alleged role in Deflategate.
Jones also defended Goodell when asked about Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s critical comments about the league.
“He’s got obviously a very tough job,” Jones said of Goodell, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “Now I see some people doing that, that’s that old violin that’s not feeling too sorry for him because that’s why you pay the big bucks is to deal with the big problems. But he’s doing an outstanding job. I can tell you firsthand that in his spot you have to with people that you are counting on to help build and to help excel as far as the National Football League, I’m talking about the owners, you have to know that you’re going to make some decisions that are very unpopular with that particular group. This is the case.”
Jones’ Cowboys host the Patriots in Week 5, and barring an injunction, that would be the final game of Brady’s four-game suspension.
So Jones’ team stands plenty to gain from Brady serving his suspension over the first four games of the season.
“I think Tom Brady is arguably as great a quarterback as we’ve ever competed against since I’ve been in pro football,” Jones said, via ESPN. “And so the fact that he may not be there is substantive. I don’t want to in any way say that the teams Bill Belichick puts together up there and Bob Kraft owns can’t figure out a way to beat us without Tom Brady. If anybody can do it, they can do it.”
Thumbnail photo via Andrew Weber/USA TODAY Sports Images
