Roger Goodell went overboard in praising Jimmy Haslam

[Lady Steel]

Roger Goodell’s praise of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam provides a breeding ground for cynicism.

Goodell made clear he is a “big fan” of Haslam and Cleveland is "fortunate" to have him.

Perish the thought that this Browns offseason has turned into a dumpster fire, and that this dumpster fire follows last offseason, when the CEO, general manager and coach all were fired after one season.

The list of football foibles goes on and on.

But then there’s the Pilot Flying J rebate fraud scandal. That’s the Knoxville, Tennessee, company Haslam runs, the one that paid $92 million to settle a federal investigation into rebate fraud and shelled out $85 million more to settle lawsuits related to the same issue. In paying the $92 million, Pilot accepted criminal responsibility for its employees cheating small trucking companies by not paying promised rebates.

Haslam said he never knew anything about the fraud scheme, that he was shocked to know it was going on. He promised to take action, and he did.

But now he’s saying some of the same things about his football team.

The team didn’t know how deep Johnny Manziel's issues were. It did its homework on Justin Gilbert but didn’t know his problems. Haslam knew nothing about his general manager sending text messages to coaches during games, in violation of league rules.

The commissioner said this at the Canton Civic Center on Wednesday: “I think this community, and I know this is Browns country, I think they're fortunate to have Jimmy Haslam as an owner, and we're fortunate to have him as an owner in the league.”

Roll out the cynicism.




http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/po...g-jimmy-haslam

[86WARD]

Goofdell is a fucking asshole. That is all.

[st33lersguy]

Who told Roger he was capable of leading an organization?

[fansince'76]

The same Jimmy Haslam who basically paid his way out of federal prison?

It figures that Goodell would be a "big fan."

Haslam said he never knew anything about the fraud scheme, that he was shocked to know it was going on.

"Ignorance is no excuse." Right, Rog?

He (Haslam) promised to take action, and he did.

So what? If the Feds hadn't busted them red-handed, it would still be happening.

Court records said the scheme lasted from at least 2007 until an FBI raid in April 2013.

He "promised to take action" because it was either that or hard time in a federal pen.

[BigNastyDefense]

First off, let me say that Haslem is nothing but a crook and I couldn't be happier that he is no longer associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is instead well-known as the owner of the Mistake on the Lake aka Cleveland Browns.

He owns a team where the two biggest names on the team are dealing with substance abuse. Johnny Manziel is in rehab for alcohol addiction (I hope this helps the young man get his life on track) and Josh Gordon is suspended for the season for a failed drug test (alcohol, which he had agreed to not consume to be reinstated after ten games last season, and I hope he seeks the help he needs to get his life on track).

He's on his second head coach and second front office regime in his short time as the Browns owner. His team and GM are under investigation by the NFL for sending text messages to the coaches on the sideline...his GM sent those texts while sitting right next to him in the owners box, and I believe that those texts were sent by Farmer under the direction of Haslam.

It's been widely speculated/reported that the Browns first two picks in last year's draft weren't actually made by Farmer. Rumor has it that the pick of Justin Gilbert was made by Pettine the head coach, and the pick of Manziel was made by Haslam. However, Farmer has remained steadfast that he made those picks, along with the decision to trade the fourth overall pick to Buffalo (which I believe he did that).

Their offensive coordinator last year, Kyle Shannahan, asked for his release from the contract he signed and was granted his request. Rumor has it that he was against drafting Manziel in the first place and was against sitting Hoyer for Manziel.

Now the Browns have journeyman QB Josh McCown to likely be the immediate backup to Manziel, which means the likely won't resign Brian Hoyer who is the only QB since the Browns returned to the league in 1999 that has an overall winning record with the team.

So yeah, what's there not to love about Haslam? LMAO

[Crash]

It sickens me that this crook was a Steelers owner.

Where was the NFL's background check before they approved him as an investor in Pittsburgh?

[BigNastyDefense]

It sickens me that this crook was a Steelers owner.

Where was the NFL's background check before they approved him as an investor in Pittsburgh?

The NFL had no idea what his company was doing, nor would they have access to his company's records. There was no way they could have known.

[Count Steeler]

The NFL had no idea what his company was doing, nor would they have access to his company's records. There was no way they could have known.

That is why I suspect Kraft is up to no good in Cheatriats land. An organization that is willing to cheat does not know where to draw the line. I suspect there are some funny money payments on his "books".