The NFL League Office has a Culture Problem
Any organization that works in isolation tends to become disconnected from their customers, which in turn, leaves them out of touch with what is considered repugnant behavior. They also tend to become more concerned with being right as opposed to doing what is right. Rather than being forward looking and innovative, they often choose to be closed minded and push their problems under the rug until events force them to be dealt with.
Since the video of Ray Rice’s attack on his now wife went viral last week, we have seen NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell exhibit almost all the behaviors associated with someone living in an ivory tower. Instead of taking responsibility, he denied having seen the video (a questionable claim) and then blamed Ray Rice for giving a description of what happened that was ambiguous (even more questionable). If his job is to determine what happened and take corrective action, why would he settle for ambiguous answers? He then did what prideful out of touch people do, he went into hiding while his PR people worked to come up with a remedy and/or better story.
This reeks of a culture stuck in the arrogant out of touch mode of: “That’s how we do things here; this is how we have always done things here.” Ray Rice is far from the first NFL player to be accused of domestic violence. There are currently 12 other players in the NFL who have been arrested for domestic abuse. If the League really cared about doing what’s right (rather than about its own image) it would have intervened with an education program as soon as they realized there was a problem. Note: the NFL did not acknowledge this as a major problem until the full film of Ray Rice’s actions came out.
This is a pattern in the NFL; they only deal with problems once there is a critical mass of outrage. For example, the concussion problem has been known for decades, but it was not until after a few high profile suicides increased public awareness, that the NFL decided to take any proactive action. I have said before that even that issue, in my humble opinion, was partially embraced to keep the lid on an even bigger (and costlier) problem in the NFL; depressive illness in former players (see article here).
The NFL takes a hard stand on the use of Marijuana, suspending repeat offenders for up to one year without pay. Yet the league turns a blind eye to the bigger problem of pain pill and narcotic addictions that cause far greater problems for its players. The leading authority on THC, the main ingredient in Marijuana, Raphael Mechoulam of Israel has published several studies in major medical journals showing the powerful (and much safer) pain relieving effects of THC.
In addition, Mechoulan has conducted several promising studies on mice using THC that shows a fifty percent reduction in brain swelling and improved function in mice with traumatic brain injuries. Mechoulan also points out that there is currently no medicine available for use in the treatment of concussions/brain swelling. Now that the NFL has finally taken an interest in the dangers of concussions, you would think they would not only be interested in this research but perhaps even funding further research regarding the potential use of marijuana in treating brain injuries.
Unfortunately, that is not the case as it would sadly not fit with their culture of inflexibility and window dressing. It would be nice if the NFL put as much effort into their own cultural change as they do into putting out Public Relations storms; maybe then they could solve most of their problems before they become public outcries.
