NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is still not ready to face New England Patriots fans in the wake of the Deflategate disaster.
A league spokesman revealed on Tuesday that Goodell is planning to be in attendance for the NFC Championship Game between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons.
Roger Goodell will attend the NFC Championship game in Atlanta on Sunday, per a league spokesman.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 17, 2017
Why is that newsworthy? For starters, Goodell hasn’t been to Gillette Stadium in over two years. The commissioner is not very popular among football fans and even less so among the Patriots faithful, so he doesn’t want to subject himself to being mercilessly taunted for suspending Tom Brady.
But what really makes it obvious that Goodell is avoiding Foxboro is that he was just in Atlanta for the Falcons’ win over the Seattle Seahawks last weekend. Typically, Goodell would make the rounds and visit multiple venues during the playoffs. Since Atlanta and New England are the only two choices for the conference championships, he’s choosing the Georgia Dome once again.
Goodell almost always attends the NFL season opener, but he avoided Gillette Stadium back in 2015 when the Patriots hosted it. Fans taunted him very loudly during that game for not showing up. You can see a video here.
You’d hate to think Goodell has to fear for his safety at an NFL stadium, but the truth is there’s more to it than that. He’s not on good terms with Patriots owner Robert Kraft or mostly anyone in the organization. Who would he chat with on the field before the game? Who would he sit with during? Don’t expect Goodell to sit among New England fans at any point in the near — or even distant — future.
