Sen. John McCain Slams NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for ‘DeflateGate’ Inaction

Arizona Senator John McCain criticized and slammed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday for his inaction on the infamous “DeflateGate” scandal.

Sen. John McCain is now one of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s critics. 

According to USA TODAY Sports’ (via AZCentral.com) Jarrett Bell, Sen. McCain slammed Goodell on Jan. 26 for not taking on a more active role in rectifying serious NFL issues such as Ray Rice’s domestic abuse controversy and the ongoing “DeflateGate” scandal.  

McCain told Bell that Goodell has been missing in action:

“I think these controversies would have gone away a lot easier if they had approached them from,’How are the American people going to react to seeing the video of a professional football player knock out his wife?

“If I were them, I would review my whole PR scheme.

“One thing we do in politics when there’s an issue that arises, smart politicians have a rapid-response team. What is the reaction of Mr. Goodell in this latest one? He’s MIA as far as I can tell.”

NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash and attorney Ted Wells are the ones leading the “DeflateGate” investigation. Wells was the lead investigator of the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal involving Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. McCain also told Bell the whole “DeflateGate” issue will have repercussions on the upcoming Super Bowl XLIX game, which will be played in his home state of Arizona:

“The whole scandal resonates very badly because just before the Super Bowl, which is the premier sporting event in America, the question is not about the contest. It’s about the pressurization of the football. That’s too bad.”

Sen. McCain is an alumnus of the U.S. Naval Academy. Bell says the senator sympathizes with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the center of the “DeflateGate” controversy and whose father, Steve, was the head coach of the Navy Midshipmen for decades.

Despite their ties, Sen. McCain was not fully convinced of Belichick’s explanation on how the pressure of the balls used for the AFC title game against the Indianapolis Colts were possibly altered, per USA TODAY:

“I’m a great admirder of Coach Belichick, but I’m not sure he’s the best at PR. He doesn’t have a warm feeling about the media. It’s obvious.

“His father was one of the institutions at the Naval Academy, on the coaching staff. And he grew up there. So I’ve always had kind of a special feeling about Belichick.”

John McCain offers advice to the NFL: “If I were them, I would review my whole PR scheme.” http://t.co/XZpygTzQQW pic.twitter.com/6bHBeCMYXS— USA TODAY Sports (@USATODAYsports) January 26, 2015

In a related development, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll defended his cornerback, Richard Sherman, on Monday. Carroll maintains Sherman was simply giving his take on the relationship between Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft in a photo he referred to during an interview after the Seahawks arrived in Arizona on Sunday, per ESPN’s Jeff Legwold. 

Sherman said he believes the NFL won’t discipline the Patriots once evidence confirms 11 of the 12 footballs used during the AFC title game were underinflated, Legwold continues. The Seattle cornerback then referred to a photo of Goodell and Kraft at a party at the latter’s house the night before the controversial game against the Colts:

“Will they be punished? Probably not. Not as long as Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell are still taking pictures at their respective homes. As long as that happens, it won’t affect them at all. Nothing will stop them.”

Carroll then told Legwold he respects Sherman’s opinion whether he talks to him or not about his comment about the Patriots:

“Well, first off I think they were on the air, he said them out loud. So, that is what he said. Richard has an outlook that Richard owns. And he had (an) opinion about something. I don’t think he knows the commissioner and Mr. Kraft very well, I don’t think they have a long-standing relationship. But he has an opinion and he expressed it.

“Whether I talk to him or not, he’s still going to have his opinion. And we actually talk about most everything that is spoken, eventually that’ll come up. We won’t share with you how that comes out and all, but we will talk about that stuff. We always have.”

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