NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s annual “State of the League” press conference (on Wednesday, February 9th) was more anticipated than usual this year. Last week, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores sued the league and three of its teams, filing a class-action lawsuit that exposed what some of the NFL’s critics have long argued: there’s an old boy network (of white men) undercutting the league’s publicized efforts to consider and hire diverse candidates. LZ and Will discuss what we learned from Goodell’s answers on that front and others, and about his evolution into a calm, affable, but ultimately dissembling figure — lest we forget, Goodell works for the NFL’s 32 team owners, and his primary concern is their bottom line. The hosts also talk about the league’s plans for NFL games abroad, including one in the stadium of German soccer club Bayern Munich next season.
