Donald Trump once had some really unkind words to say about Roger Goodell
We now know about the relationship of President Donald Trump and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Tom Brady has done his fruitful best to separate himself from Trump since the appearance of that MAGA hat in his locker this season. And, of course, there’s the complex relationships between Brady and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and also Kraft and Goodell.
We also learned Thursday that Goodell has little interest in discussing anything Trump-related.
[Read and React Newsletter: Shutdown Corner’s best Super Bowl coverage in your inbox!]
But what does Trump think of Goodell? Well, we might now have a pretty clear idea if a few comments Trump made in 2015 are any indication.
Trump told the New York Times that year, when Brady, Kraft and the Patriots were in the early throes of deflate-gate, made his feeling clear on Goodell.
[Ditch the paper and pen – play Squares Pick’em for the Big Game!]
“The commissioner is a weak guy,” Trump said. “When he made the Ray Rice deal, everybody said: You’re stupid. You’re weak. And it was such a weak deal. So now he’s going overboard with their star, Brady.”
He added: “The commissioner is a dope. He’s a stupid guy.”
Trump also made it clear that he and Brady are “great, great friends,” but that Brady called him “Mr. Trump” then (is it “President Trump” now, we wonder?), and Brady’s recent distancing — even in his attempt to stay clear of political talk — might call that into a bit of question.
At the time, Trump also questioned Kraft’s instincts for trusting Goodell and implored Brady to go hard after the NFL in the courts.
“I said, ‘Tom’ — I gave him a lawyer — I said, ‘Here’s what you do. Sue the NFL for $500 million tomorrow. Sue ’em up in Boston, for everything. They’ll come to the table,’” Trump said. “He said, ‘Aw, man.’ He really was torn. He’s not Trump. He said, ‘I just want to win another Super Bowl.’”
As for Kraft, Trump indicated that the Patriots owner got a bad deal when he assumed the commish would do him a solid by Brady backing down on an appeal in exchange for a reduced suspension. We know how that one ended.
“He choked, just like Romney choked. He said: ‘You know what? They winked at me.’ I said, ‘Bob when you make a deal, you should have gotten it all wrapped up.’ Who ever heard of making a deal like that? Now you got this mess.”
Speaking of messes, no one really comes out looking good in this bizarre rhombus. Even — and perhaps especially — the president. There’s a stick-to-sports joke in here somewhere perhaps, or maybe not.
– – – – – – –
Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
