Roger Goodell's (Mis)Qualifications

"Roger Stokoe Goodell (February 19, 1959) is the Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the owners. He officially began his tenure on September 1, 2006, just prior to the beginning of the 2006 NFL season. Commentators have described him as "the most powerful man in sports".

- Roger Goodell's wikipedia page

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Goodell is no doubt academically qualified to be the Commissioner for the NFL. He graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 1981 with a degree in Ecnomoics. He started with a very low-level job in the league, and eventually worked his way up to the top. I argue that that Goodell found himself in a position (e.g. NFL Commissioner) grossly underprepared, or at the very least with a misconception on how to run the League well in the public eye.

It is no surprise that someone with a degree in economics is being informally investigated for having alterior (financial) motives in the decisions he makes in reference to player suspensions, referee lockouts, or rule changes or alterations. In a Pitsburgh Times article titled "Dream Job Comes With Challenges" Joanne Korth criticized Goodell's actions as not in any way resembling the romanticised vision of a NFL job that he had when he was a kid, or kids these days have. He is not embodying what it is to do what he and so many little kids around the world loves, and doing it well at the same time. His actions are specifically being challenged as to whether or not he has explicit financial motives, and that he has started to value the integrity of the game below its profitability.