NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Speaks To Medill Students

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell took time the day before the first ever NFL Draft to be held in the city of Chicago to discuss pertinent issues related to the league with students, faculty and administrators at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Everything from how the league has firmed its stance of domestic violence to the possibility of holding another draft in Chicago generated strong discussion, according to Charles Whitaker, professor at Medill.

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“The big topic was domestic violence and what the NFL is doing to help curb that,” said Whitaker, one of about 170 in attendance Wednesday at the McCormick Foundation Center Forum on the campus in Evanston. “He touted the (domestic violence) education program the league has in effect now and how every NFL employee is now required to go through it.”

The session began with a brief question and answer session between Goodell and Christine Brennan, a noted sports journalist with the USA Today who attended Medill.

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Questions from the students followed, and they weren’t softballs either.

“He (the commissioner) was peppered about the NFL drug policy given the softening of laws across the nation and the legalization of marijuana in some states,” Whitaker said. “He said the NFL policy is based on the recommendations of the medical staff, which holds that it is not safe nor wise for players to use marijuana.

The success of games played in the United Kingdom, the need for a professional team in Los Angeles and discussion on how Chicago has been “a great showcase for the NFL” in putting on this year’s draft events were also brought up.

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Whitaker said the commissioner would not rule out holding the draft in Chicago again and said discussion ensued about the possibility of having the most popular offseason event in a different city every year.

He didn’t take a stance on a potential name change for the Washington Redskins, but did say the team’s fans are loyal to the name and that it is not his decision anyway.

Goodell was brought to Medill through a pair of connections he has with the school, Whitaker said.

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Once it was announced the draft would be held in the city, the league reached out to Brennan, a longtime acquaintance of Goodell, looking for an opportunity to do something of this kind.

Goodell’s wife also earned an undergraduate degree from Northwestern and a master’s in journalism from Medill.

“All that came together and they reached out to us,” Whitaker said.