According to a 2010 New York Times article, a framed, original copy of his father’s antiwar bill hangs on the wall of Goodell’s office at NFL headquarters in New York City.

“As far as my father knew, it was the right thing to do, and it did have some serious consequences to his political career,” Goodell told the newspaper. “And I think he knew that.

“That was a valuable lesson to me—taking that position he did would be the end of his political career. He was obviously hoping people would see it was the right thing to do, but against the president’s weight, the weight of the Republican party, it would be difficult, but he did it.”

Such is the way Goodell appears to want to see himself: as a principled leader who makes tough decisions, regardless of personal price. Who stands alone when necessary. The sort of man who reportedly “went ballistic” when Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw publicly suggested that the NFL only cares about the well-being of retired players because of public-relations concerns and the current concussion litigation against the league. “I don’t do things for public relations,” the commissioner told Time magazine in 2012. “I do things because they’re the right thing to do, because I love the game … If you want to do the popular thing, be a cheerleader.”

The Rice case, by contrast, paints a different picture of Goodell: one of a Company Man. A Washington-style spinner. A slave to knee-jerk expediency.

In February, the former Baltimore Ravens running back punched his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino, knocking her unconscious. TMZ released surveillance video that showed Rice dragging Palmer’s limp body across the floor. Charged with felony aggravated assault, he entered a pretrial intervention program. Goodell suspended Rice for two games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, while Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh infamously stated in a press conference that his player’s punishment was a good lesson for “kids” on “how it should be.”

Public outrage followed. Some accused the NFL of caring more about players smoking marijuana than hitting their wives and girlfriends. Others wondered why Goodell interviewed Palmer with Rice in the same room—a huge no-no in domestic violence cases—while investigating the incident. Stung by the backlash, Goodell announced minimum six-game suspensions for first-time domestic violence offenders and lifetime bans for repeat offenders, also writing a mea culpa letter to league owners stating that “my disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families. I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values … I didn't get it right. Simply put, we have to do better. And we will."