Polamalu: Goodell has too much power
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu believes NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has too much power.
His teammate, linebacker James Harrison, was fined $20,000 by the NFL for his hit on New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in Sunday night’s game. Harrison has accumulated $100,000 in fines already this season.
Harrison had a meeting with Goodell this week, but Polamalu said he wouldn’t need to talk to the commissioner about the fines and recently reinforced rules on illegal hits.
“No. Nah, sometimes I think it just falls on deaf ears,” Polamalu told the local media Thursday. “I think a lot of players have said a lot of things, and I guarantee he heard everything everybody said. But he’s got all the power, and that may be part of the problem, that there needs to be some type of separation of power, like our government. There should be some type of players involved and decisions into how much people should be fined, or what they should be fined for, as well as coaches, as well as front-office people. I don’t think it should be just totally based on what two or three people say who are totally away from the game. I think it should be some of the players that are currently playing.”
The eighth-year pro was asked if there’s a certain level of paranoia not only for people watching the game but for the officials who feel they need to throw the flag.
It’s football, you know. If people want to watch soccer they should watch soccer," he said. "But honestly, overseas, when people are attracted to this game, they’re going to see the big hits. They’re not going to care about touchdowns and different things, so you’re also taking a part of what attracts people to this game."
Polamalu is expressing what many defensive players from many teams have expressed in recent weeks — football is a physical game and they don’t want to change how they play.
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu believes NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has too much power.
His teammate, linebacker James Harrison, was fined $20,000 by the NFL for his hit on New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in Sunday night’s game. Harrison has accumulated $100,000 in fines already this season.
Harrison had a meeting with Goodell this week, but Polamalu said he wouldn’t need to talk to the commissioner about the fines and recently reinforced rules on illegal hits.
“No. Nah, sometimes I think it just falls on deaf ears,” Polamalu told the local media Thursday. “I think a lot of players have said a lot of things, and I guarantee he heard everything everybody said. But he’s got all the power, and that may be part of the problem, that there needs to be some type of separation of power, like our government. There should be some type of players involved and decisions into how much people should be fined, or what they should be fined for, as well as coaches, as well as front-office people. I don’t think it should be just totally based on what two or three people say who are totally away from the game. I think it should be some of the players that are currently playing.”
The eighth-year pro was asked if there’s a certain level of paranoia not only for people watching the game but for the officials who feel they need to throw the flag.
It’s football, you know. If people want to watch soccer they should watch soccer," he said. "But honestly, overseas, when people are attracted to this game, they’re going to see the big hits. They’re not going to care about touchdowns and different things, so you’re also taking a part of what attracts people to this game."
Polamalu is expressing what many defensive players from many teams have expressed in recent weeks — football is a physical game and they don’t want to change how they play.
