Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Freedom of press only goes so far
Report out of Espn.com reports that Bryant Gumbel is cleared of anything from the comments he made about Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue's leash on NFL player union chief Gene Upshaw.
Gumbel commenting on his show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, closed a particular show addressing new commissioner Roger Goodell telling the new commish that when Tagliabue cleans out his office, to make sure that he showed where he kept Upshaw's leash, because football players do not receive the guaranteed contracts that other players get.
Gumbel, by the constitution is guaranteed the right to free press. He cannot go to jail for these comments. No one is threatening him. No. But these comments have to be taken into consideration.
Gumbel is a different situation because he is employed by the NFL. He will broadcast play-by-play for 8 games the NFL Network plans to televise. So he and any other reporters have to know that when you criticize your boss, you feel the wrath.
I hear various reporters coming to his defense saying it is freedom of speech. But think about this from a non-reporter point-of-view. If I or any of you all were to make public comments about our boss, administration, or superiors, we would definitely be in the hot seat.
Journalists I guess feel that the Constitution guarantees that they can rip anybody and not feel the ripples that come from they said. Ask Tony Kornheiser of PTI if ripping ESPN was a good idea. Kornheiser was suspended for making comments criticizing ESPN during a commercial break on his radio show. The comments were heard on the internet broadcast. Ask Brad Sham, cowboys radio play-by-play, when he criticized Jerry Jones for comments that fans would be more likely to trust him rather than Jerry Jones when it came to matters involving the team. Sham was removed as host of Jerry Jones TV show after these comments and left the booth for 3 seasons before returning in 1998.
Guys, you feel it when you criticize your employer. The NFL has every right to question of Gumebl should have continued on as a broadcaster. He criticized them. In public. Rather viciously in my opinion.
Granted, I know the NFL has a bad union. They do not do enough for retired veterans, particularly players who have suffered injuries that affect them for the rest of their life (see Earl Cambell). Also the guaranteed contract are not there.
If I were Goodell, I would still keep the salary cap, and present guaranteed contracts. But only for a four-year maximum. Anything longer is not guaranteed. This I would feel would eliminate the signing bonuses.
I would also institute a Larry Bird type rule like the NBA has, where a team can exceed the salary cap to resign one particular player.
For the NFL it would probably be two players, considering how big the rosters are.
You are probably saying that I am saying the same things that Gumbel said. OF course I am. But I don't work for the NFL.
Gumbel commenting on his show Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, closed a particular show addressing new commissioner Roger Goodell telling the new commish that when Tagliabue cleans out his office, to make sure that he showed where he kept Upshaw's leash, because football players do not receive the guaranteed contracts that other players get.
Gumbel, by the constitution is guaranteed the right to free press. He cannot go to jail for these comments. No one is threatening him. No. But these comments have to be taken into consideration.
Gumbel is a different situation because he is employed by the NFL. He will broadcast play-by-play for 8 games the NFL Network plans to televise. So he and any other reporters have to know that when you criticize your boss, you feel the wrath.
I hear various reporters coming to his defense saying it is freedom of speech. But think about this from a non-reporter point-of-view. If I or any of you all were to make public comments about our boss, administration, or superiors, we would definitely be in the hot seat.
Journalists I guess feel that the Constitution guarantees that they can rip anybody and not feel the ripples that come from they said. Ask Tony Kornheiser of PTI if ripping ESPN was a good idea. Kornheiser was suspended for making comments criticizing ESPN during a commercial break on his radio show. The comments were heard on the internet broadcast. Ask Brad Sham, cowboys radio play-by-play, when he criticized Jerry Jones for comments that fans would be more likely to trust him rather than Jerry Jones when it came to matters involving the team. Sham was removed as host of Jerry Jones TV show after these comments and left the booth for 3 seasons before returning in 1998.
Guys, you feel it when you criticize your employer. The NFL has every right to question of Gumebl should have continued on as a broadcaster. He criticized them. In public. Rather viciously in my opinion.
Granted, I know the NFL has a bad union. They do not do enough for retired veterans, particularly players who have suffered injuries that affect them for the rest of their life (see Earl Cambell). Also the guaranteed contract are not there.
If I were Goodell, I would still keep the salary cap, and present guaranteed contracts. But only for a four-year maximum. Anything longer is not guaranteed. This I would feel would eliminate the signing bonuses.
I would also institute a Larry Bird type rule like the NBA has, where a team can exceed the salary cap to resign one particular player.
For the NFL it would probably be two players, considering how big the rosters are.
You are probably saying that I am saying the same things that Gumbel said. OF course I am. But I don't work for the NFL.
# posted by ttheman @ 8:01 PM 
