Ca a pas encore été mis, Troy Smith parlant à Goodell :
TROY SMITH QUERIED ROGER GOODELL by Michael David Smith
We noted this morning that a player at the NFL´s Rookie Symposium asked commissioner Roger Goodell some tough questions about why he doesn´t focus more on the positive when he speaks about the league and its players. Now at least part of that exchange -- with Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Troy Smith quizzing Goodell -- is available as a video on NFL.com with a heading that says, "NFL Network looks at the 11th annual rookie symposium."
Early in the video, NFL Network´s Rich Eisen reports that Goodell gave a 10-minute speech and that the speech was followed by "quite a lively question and answer period." It then shows Smith, who won the Heisman Trophy last year at Ohio State, speaking up.
The video shows Smith saying to Goodell that every time he has seen Goodell speak, he has spoken about the need for more discipline. Smith then asks, "When and where is the positive stuff from you going to come out?"
Goodell replied, "Well, when you say positive stuff, I walk around talking about players and what they do in their communities every place I go. Unfortunately the media hits you with the negatives, and the commissioner has to deal with a lot of the negatives. But I promote our players every chance I can about what we are doing in our communities, what the players are doing in their communities. It reflects on that shield [meaning the NFL logo]. When I talk about that shield I talk about that shield because everyone here has an interest in it, Troy. It is not just about your individual team. It is not just about where you come from, Ohio State University. It´s about what you represent as an NFL player right now. And we all represent that shield."
Unfortunately, the NFL.com video does not show Smith´s follow-up, in which he apparently told Goodell, "You haven´t answered my question." But the video does show an interaction that makes the league look good if for no other reason than it is willing to address controversial issues head-on.
Smith comes away looking confident and poised (as a Heisman Trophy winner he obviously has more experience with public speaking than almost anyone else at the Symposium). Goodell holds his ground and doesn´t pretend everything is rosy inside the league. An open exchange of ideas is never a bad thing.