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[Petition to #FreeSimmons, signed by Lena Dunham, Judd Apatow, and thousands of others, so far]

[I’m not the only one supporting Bill Simmons; see other outlets voice their support for BS and condemnation of ESPN]

A couple of my Twitter followers have asked me about my boycott of ESPN, following the company’s announcement that it would suspend Grantland editor-in-chief (and personal hero of mine), Bill Simmons, namely: “Why are you boycotting?” “What exactly does it mean that you’re boycotting?” and “What’s this all about?”

In answer, I provide the following article:

My boycott is simple: no clicks of any kind on any ESPN-branded content (including even Grantland, literally my favorite site on the Internet, because every click on that website is still a click for Disney-owned ESPN, and any benefit still goes to them), and not a minute of viewership on any ESPN channel. I am an avid follower of Grantland (I especially recommend their podcasts, including — and especially — The B.S. Report, the podcast on which Simmons delivered the indignant, righteously-angry diatribe against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that drew a three-week suspension from ESPN), and do not expect this boycott to be easy, though I know that it is morally right.

This means that, until Bill Simmons is back at work at the helm of Grantland — which, along with Outside the Lines, is, in my opinion, the only journalism of any significant merit or integrity that ESPN currently sponsors or produces — I will forego my multiple daily visits to ESPN.com; not so much as visit the ESPN-hosted site for one of my two fantasy football leagues, meaning I cannot set my roster, make waiver-wire transactions, sign free-agents, or communicate with the rest of my league; will not link to ESPN content in any social-media forum (besides Twitter, and then only in an effort to spread the word about how they have misstepped in suspending Simmons); and will not visit any establishment (like bars or restaurants) playing their channels, or pay a dime to any outlet still sponsoring ESPN or the NFL.

I was already incensed with the NFL’s gross mishandling of the Ray Rice suspension, and with domestic/sexual assault in general, when Simmons took to the ‘airwaves’ (technically, podcasts aren’t broadcast ‘over the air,’ but it works) to excoriate the NFL’s leadership, and in particular Goodell. I’ve reprinted below the excerpts of the podcast to which ESPN’s leadership took issue (profanity was ‘bleeped’ on the aired version of the podcast; I have retained it for context):

“Goodell, if he didn’t know what was on that tape, he’s a liar,” Simmons said Monday. “I’m just saying it. He is lying. I think that dude is lying. If you put him up on a lie detector test that guy would fail. For all these people to pretend they didn’t know is such fucking bullshit. It really is — it’s such fucking bullshit. And for him to go in that press conference and pretend otherwise, I was so insulted. I really was.”

“I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I’m in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell,” he said. “Because if one person says that to me, I’m going public. You leave me alone. The commissioner’s a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast.”

Simmons, evidently, was wrong when he asserted he ‘get[s] to talk about that on my podcast.’ In an anonymous statement, ESPN communicated their rationale for suspending Simmons:

“Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN’s journalistic standards. We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks.”

I have looked for, and failed to find (but if anyone comes across them, please link me), a codified list of ESPN’s ‘journalistic standards.’ What, precisely, did Simmons do to violate them? Commentators like Stephen A. Smith have run afoul of public sentiment and been chastised, though not suspended, for far more offensively-worded incidents. Simmons’s assertion that Goodell was, and is, ‘a fucking liar,’ was preceded by a clear, unambiguous disclaimer that what he was voicing was not incontrovertible fact, but merely his own opinion, ‘I think that dude is lying.’

Swearing, including the use of the word ‘fuck’ in various iterations, has not previously been met with punishment, so I can only assume that profanity isn’t against ESPN’s self-proclaimed ‘journalistic standards.’ And even so, the language was censored — with ‘bleeps’ — when the podcast aired.

Simmons spoke for many of us, as ambivalent NFL fans, when he said, “I was insulted.” I was insulted, too. For Goodell to claim that he made every effort to obtain the Revel Hotel and Casino elevator footage of Ray Rice punching, and knocking out cold, his then-fiancée (now wife), Janay Rice, but failed to obtain or view said video, was deeply insulting. Forget for a second that it shouldn’t matter even slightly whether or not Goodell did actually see the video — as, according to numerous sources, Rice was unfailingly honest in describing the events in meetings with both the commissioner and with Baltimore Ravens brass — and think about how likely it is that he did not, as he has repeatedly claimed in press conferences and interviews.

Some context about Goodell’s tenure as NFL Commissioner might be useful, in pondering whether or not he actually managed to avoid seeing the in-elevator footage before TMZ released the tape on September 8. He has a lengthy history of cover-ups and misinformation, in the name of — as he is so fond of saying — ‘defending the shield.’

One early indicator of the policy and tactics he was beginning to adopt was the 2007 “Spygate” investigation. New England Patriots head coach, Bill Belicheck — and his assistant coaching staff — came under fire for videotaping opponents’ signaling and play-calling, for later review. Within five days, Goodell ruled on a punishment, fining Belichick $500,000 (the maximum allowed by the NFL’s constitution) and the team $250,000 and stripping New England of a first-round draft choice, all reasonable penalties, given the circumstances.

However, Goodell also ordered all the videotapes and evidence the league had gathered destroyed. It is almost never an encouraging sign, when evidence is destroyed wholesale. To date, it is still entirely unknown — outside the league office and Patriots’ coaching staff — what exactly the tapes contained, or how much the spying had helped the Patriots win games, including Super Bowls in the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons. Goodell maintains a close, friendly relationship with one of his employers, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and some owners and other executives felt their relationship had played a role in the punishment, which they felt could have been harsher.

So in the investigation of Spygate, and the levying of a punishment, Goodell destroyed evidence and appeared to show favoritism, helping out a friend and, nominally, employer by suppressing the public outcry and fallout that would likely have accompanied a public release of the tapes, likely ensuring the guilty parties received lighter penalties than they otherwise could, or should, have.

In 2010, the NFL and Goodell began investigating the Saints, based on allegations of deliberate attempts to injure opposing players, in part through the operation of a team slush-fund that paid out defensive players for big hits, especially those that injured an opposing player so severely that he had to come off the field for the rest of the game. Wikipedia notes that the investigation stalled until 2012, which takes on sinister significance in the face of Goodell’s current comportment and disposition of Rice’s investigation.

On March 2, 2012, the NFL announced that it had evidence that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had instituted the ‘bounty’ program — in which Williams and Saints players pooled their own money to pay out performance-based bonuses — shortly after his arrival in New Orleans, in violation of league policy. It also asserted that head coach Sean Payton tried to cover up the scheme, and that he and general manager Mickey Loomis failed to shut it down when ordered to do so by team owner Tom Benson.

Roger Goodell responded with some of the most severe sanctions in league history. Williams was suspended indefinitely, while Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season — the first time in modern NFL history that a head coach has been suspended for any reason. The Saints organization was fined $500,000, and forced to forfeit their second-round draft selections in 2012 and 2013.

From Wikipedia; “However on July 26, 2012, Vilma and seven witnesses from the Saints testified in front of a federal judge in New Orleans that Goodell got his facts wrong, and there was no bounty scheme. At least one legal expert agreed that Goodell had overstepped his authority.”

Video was also critical evidence in the investigation against the New Orleans Saints. A sideline videotape of the 2009 NFC Championship Game against the Vikings was shown by league officials to reporters, who were told that Saints defensive end Anthony Hargrove smiles and winks and states, “Give me my money,” on the bench after putting a crushing hit on Vikings QB Brett Favre. Hargrove became the public villain of the scandal after Goodell made sure that sports journalists saw the videotape, but it turned out it wasn’t Hargrove’s voice on the tape.

Goodell has a long, checkered history of presenting evidence that shifts blame away from his office — and away from the 32 owners he represents — and concealing or suppressing evidence that would cast ‘the shield’ in a bad light.

The Outside the Lines investigative piece examining the Rice investigation by the NFL, written by Don Van Natta Jr. and Kevin Van Valkenburg, stated, “Last week, Goodell told CBS News that, during the disciplinary meeting, Rice provided an ‘ambiguous’ account of what had happened inside the elevator. And in its Sept. 12 letter justifying the indefinite suspension, the league said Rice’s account was ‘starkly different’ from what was seen on the inside-elevator video. Four sources, however, told ‘Outside the Lines’ that Rice gave Goodell a truthful account. Furthermore, it would seem that if Rice had given an ‘ambiguous’ account, sources say Goodell had even more incentive to try to obtain a copy of the in-elevator video to clear up any lingering questions. But he did not do that. ‘For [Goodell] not to have seen the video is inexcusable,’ a league source told ‘Outside the Lines.’ ‘Because everybody was under the impression that [he] had [seen the video].’



The OTL report goes on to say, “For his part, Goodell has told friends he’d never resign, and [is] confident his job is not in jeopardy.“

Why isn’t it?

Any elected, public official who dared to be so opaque and arrogantly disingenuous and manipulative of evidence, would not be long in office. Remember what happened to Nixon?

For me, it’s not simply that the NFL is covering up its internal scandals and issues. It’s about what that means for the rest of society.

CTE — almost certainly the inevitable result of repeated concussions — has been linked to a number of medical and psychological issues that occur to athletes later in life. Wikipedia states, “Clinical symptoms of CTE are only beginning to be understood. They are thought to include changes in mood (i.e. depression, suicidality, apathy, anxiety), cognition (i.e. memory loss, executive dysfunction), behavior (short fuse, aggression), and in some cases motor disturbance (i.e. difficulty with balance and gait).” [emphasis mine]

It’s a common refrain that, “These guys know what they’re getting into,” regarding the physical violence of the game of football, and the toll that takes on their bodies. Do they?

Dave Duerson was found dead at his home on February 17, 2011, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. He sent a text message to his family saying he wanted his brain to be used for research at the Boston University School of Medicine, currently conducting research into CTE, which later confirmed that he indeed suffered from CTE.

Junior Seau, a beloved former Pro-Bowl linebacker, similarly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Seau’s autopsy report (released in August 2012 by the San Diego County medical examiner) indicated that his body contained no illegal drugs or alcohol. On January 10, 2013, Seau’s family released the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s findings that Seau’s brain showed definitive signs of CTE. The NIH said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people “with exposure to repetitive head injuries.”

It is almost certain that ‘these guys’ do not know what they are ‘getting into,’ when it comes to playing football at a high level, and what that might conceivably do to their bodies and brains. It is absolutely certain that the wives, girlfriends, children and friends of NFL players do not ‘know what they’re getting into’ when it comes to forming and maintaining relationships with players, who may become aggressive and violent — even with no prior history — due to repeated concussions.

In other words, the violence of the game of football — which is its defining, most distinctive feature — may beget violence against women and children (á la Adrian Peterson), and those closest to football players may be most at risk and simultaneously entirely ignorant of that risk.

I believe that righteous anger and indignation motivated Simmons to call Goodell a ‘fucking liar,’ and I second that anger and indignation. ‘The shield’ that Goodell represents may now be knowingly putting thousands of people at risk, and Goodell’s policy of suppressing or destroying evidence to minimize public relations damage to the league or its 32 owners is, at the very least, reprehensible, and likely also criminal.

ESPN, if it possessed the ‘journalistic integrity’ it crows about in its anonymous press release defending the Simmons suspension, would stand behind the Grantland editor-in-chief. Instead, they have hedged — valuing their extremely profitable relationship with the NFL and its fans — and suppressed the (as far as I can tell) lone voice calling Goodell what he assuredly is, and bringing attention to the coverups and the damage they are inflicting.

If you agree — and if you don’t, I would urge you to closely examine your reasons for disagreeing — then join me in boycotting ESPN. The hashtag #FreeSimmons is already a trending tag on Twitter, and I add my own #ESPNboycott to call attention to my refusal to consume any ESPN product, or financially benefit them in any way, while Simmons is suspended. Change for the better can be effected, but only with increased awareness and public outcry against the perpetrators and those who support them, explicitly or implicitly.

In the words of John Stuart Mill, “[Evil] men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”

Twitter: @kmichaelcook

If you agree that ESPN has grossly undercut one of its employees and leading voices, please hashtag tweets and other posts with #FreeSimmons. If you agree that Roger Goodell should/must step down as NFL Commissioner, hashtag your discussions #GoodellMustGo. And if you endorse, support or adopt my boycott of ESPN, use the hashtag #ESPNboycott. And please, if you believe that there is some value and worth in this article’s analysis, use the buttons below to share this article with those in your social networks.