Roger Goodell held a press conference last Friday, which was his first public appearance in over a week. If you haven’t seen the video, I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that it went very poorly.

He was getting grilled by everyone. One reporter, and I’m paraphrasing, even asked him if he understood why some of the victims and their families would be mad with him. I mean to some extent I understand the criticism of him, but it’s gone too far. The victims should be upset primarily with their attackers. I can even understand victims being mad at law enforcement for not handling a criminal investigation or prosecution properly. But Roger Goodell is their employer.

When Ray Rice plea bargained on his domestic abuse charge, Goodell gave him the stiffest punishment for a domestic abuse charge in NFL history (2 games). Yet it was viewed to be a very light punishment. He has since increased it due to public discontent. If he’s giving in to the public, why is the public so upset with him? Is it because he didn’t do it in a timely manner?

Now there has been an increasing demand that the NFL use it’s money and influence to aid victims and prevent more domestic abuse, and they are giving in. It’s not Goodell’s place to do this. He’s running a business for the 32 owners. Yet the public demands it, and they are getting what they want. It’s almost like because it wasn’t his idea and it had to be suggested to him, he’s an ineffective commissioner in some way.

There’s been some push to have him fired. But don’t we want an NFL Commissioner who is such a pussy that he’ll cave into whatever the public wants?