The NFL appears to be the Teflon League.
As the NFL prepares for the start of another season, it is facing numerous problems.
It starts with the safety of the game itself. Demaryius Thomas, who died at age 33 last December, was the latest deceased player to be diagnosed with Stage 2 CTE.
There were other complications because he suffered from seizures brought on by a 2019 car crash, so it is impossible to tell what factor CTE played in his death. But the fact that he suffered CTE at such a young age is another sign that safety remains an issue.
Then there is the issue of the Washington Commanders, which has now reached the halls of Congress.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a recent hearing about the Commanders many problems, including rampant sexual harassment of the team’s female employees.
Not surprising owner Dan Snyder was a no-show, leaving commissioner Roger Goodell to claim the team has transformed its culture.
But with Snyder in charge, that is debatable. The committee also revealed that the team conducted a shadow investigation designed at intimidating witnesses.
The obvious solution would be for the NFL to remove Snyder, but Goodell quickly pointed out he doesn’t have the power to do that — although he is not pushing the owners to do it, either. He doesn’t want to rock the boat.
Meanwhile, what was an iconic franchise has turned into a dumpster fire, which is not good for the league.
And then there is the lack of diversity in the coaching ranks, which led to the Brian Flores lawsuit. And there’s also the Jon Gruden lawsuit over the leaked emails that cost him the Raiders job.
On top of that there is Deshaun Watson, who will eventually play but isn’t going to help the league attract more women as fans.
And the league also got away with banning Colin Kaepernick, which will be a stain on the league in the future.
Despite all of these problems, they seem to have no effect on the league. The fans seem addicted to watching the games on TV and the TV money keeps exploding, especially with new platforms entering the bidding.
So as long as all the money keeps flowing in, the NFL can brush off all of its problems.