Roger Goodell will not be disrespected in public.
On Thursday, the NFL commissioner sent out a memo to team owners, lead executives, general managers and head coaches informing them that the 2020 NFL Draft would not be delayed because of concerns about the growing coronavirus pandemic.
The NFL Management Council’s Executive Committee was “unanimous and unequivocal that the draft should go forward as scheduled,” Goodell wrote. “Apart from the CEC, I have personally discussed this matter with many other owners, club executives and coaches, and there is widespread support for the CEC’s conclusion.”
“Everyone recognizes that public health conditions are highly uncertain and there is no assurance that we can select a different date and be confident that conditions will be significantly more favorable than they are today,” Goodell said in the memo. “I also believe that the draft can serve a very positive purpose for our clubs, our fans, and the country at large, and many of you have agreed.”
Adam Schefter of ESPN would soon share another part of the memo that threatened disciplinary action to anybody around the league who dared speak on issues regarding the draft in public.
“In Roger Goodell’s memo that the draft will go on, he served warning to those around the league that criticize the league’s stance. Goodell wrote, “public discussion of issues relating to the draft serves no useful purpose and is grounds for disciplinary action.”
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The events that were supposed to go in Las Vegas has since been canceled.
“The draft itself will be conducted and televised in a way that reflects current conditions,” Goodell wrote. “Our staff is certainly mindful of the operational issues this presents, and our top priority is putting in place procedures that allow all clubs to operate on a level playing field so that the draft is conducted in a way that is competitively fair to all clubs. All clubs should now be doing the necessary planning to conduct draft operations in a location outside of your facility, with a limited number of people present, and with sufficient technology resources to allow you to communicate internally, with other clubs, and with draft headquarters. Needless to say, we will be prepared to adjust to changed circumstances in the next several weeks, including the prospect of clubs being able to resume even limited operations within their facilities.”
The U.S. now has more known positive cases of coronavirus than any other country in the world, according to the New York Times.
