Goodell on Epstein-Linked Owner, Belichick Snub, and Bad Bunny

SAN JOSE — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell grappled with three separate hot-button political issues during his annual Super Bowl press conference Monday, and his approach on each was similar: either the league is not directly involved or will wait to gather more facts before acting.

Most pertinently, Goodell said the NFL will take a measured approach regarding Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, whose name showed up more than 400 times in released files related to late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.  

“Absolutely, we will look at all the facts,” Goodell said. “We’ll look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the [league’s personal conduct] policy. I think we’ll take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”

The commissioner did not say whether Tisch could be subject to league discipline.

“You may be getting ahead of yourself,” the commissioner said in a response to a question about potential disciplinary action. 

Similarly, Goodell did not clarify what would even trigger a formal investigation into Tisch.

“I don’t even know the status of all the [Department of Justice’s documents],” he said. “I know that three million documents came out last week. Listen, we’ll continue to follow any of the facts that come up and determine if we open an investigation based on those facts.”

Tisch has acknowledged his presence in the documents and said in a statement that Epstein “was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

Belichick Distancing

Regarding a reported snub of former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Goodell took great pains to distinguish between the league and the football shrine. 

“Listen, I’m not even sure whether it’s true,” Goodell said of the exclusion of Belichick. “The Pro Football Hall of Fame is not in any way controlled by the NFL. We have no say in the voting process. We don’t participate in the voting process.”

Goodell, however, made it plain that he believes Belichick is a clear Hall of Famer after winning six Super Bowls as a head coach and two more as a defensive coordinator.

“Bill Belichick’s record goes without saying, same with the Patriots and [owner] Robert Kraft, who is also a candidate,” he said. “They are spectacular. They have contributed so much to this game, and I believe they will be Hall of Famers.”

Bad Bunny Support

Just as he did in October, Goodell stood firmly behind the NFL’s selection of Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny to headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show. 

Outcry regarding the upcoming show, however, is now rising again, particularly among political conservatives. Helping reignite the matter is the musician’s pointed remarks against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Here, too, Goodell stayed out of the political fray, and his ability to remain measured on the most inflammatory topics has been part of what has kept him in the post for nearly 20 years, with potentially more coming. 

“Bad Bunny is, and I think that was demonstrated last night, one of the great artists in the world. And that’s one of the reasons we chose him,” he said.