It’s hard to believe Roger Goodell was prepared to take questions about the recently released batch of Jeffrey Epstein files from the U.S. Justice Department.
Yet, that’s exactly what happened when the NFL commissioner spoke about the explosive evidence against New York Giants executive vice president Steve Tisch at Goodell’s annual State of the NFL address in San Jose on Monday.
Tisch, of course, was reportedly named at least 440 times in the batch of evidence that was unveiled Friday. The associated files revealed correspondence with Epstein, a convicted child sex offender.
Much of the released files associated with Tisch, a longtime film producer, appear damning. This is particularly the case given Epstein and longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s arrests and Maxwell’s conviction for sex trafficking in 2021.
The NFL Will ‘Look At All The Facts’ Before Ruling On Steve Tisch
As expected, Goodell couldn’t say much about the Tisch saga, especially since he works for the 32 NFL owners. But his response was tepid at best.
“Absolutely we will look at all the facts,” Goodell said after longtime NFL reporter Judy Battista asked him about Tisch’s being named in the report. “We’re going to look at the context of those [exchanges]. We’re going to try and understand those.”
Tisch, 76, has been in his role with the Giants since 2005 and succeeded his father Robert Tisch after he passed away of brain cancer that year — less than three weeks after Tisch’s co-owner Wellington Mara passed away.
The Giants have won the Super Bowl twice, in 2007 and 2011, under the leadership of Tisch and Wellington’s son John Mara — the Maras and Tisches have shared ownership of the team since 1991, when the Maras sold a 50% stake in the team to Robert Tisch.
Yet, Tisch’s days as chairman of the Giants board of director could be numbered, particularly given the high-profile and indefensible allegations against Epstein and those who visited his personal island — dubbed Little St. James.
Steve Tisch Could Be Punished Under The NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy
The public is looking for accountability among the men and women who both associated with Epstein and engaged with him. Yet, so far only Maxwell has been criminally convicted — Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trail for child sex trafficking.
So the NFL could opt to hold Tisch accountable under the personal-conduct policy that players and league members alike are subject to. It would be an extraordinary step, but the allegations against Tisch, if true, are worthy of such measures and would help the league rid itself of this potential scandal.
There also is precedent for the NFL to oust an owner, notably Daniel Snyder of the Washington Commanders, who embarrasses the league. Snyder was accused of operating a hostile work environment and wide-scale sexual harassment and was pressured to sell the team to Josh Harris for more than $6 billion in 2023.
At first glance, public outcry is for the league to do just that with Tisch. Yet, Goodell wasn’t prepared to address any potential punishment for him just yet.
“I think we’ll take one step at a time,” Goodell said. “Let’s get the facts first.”
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