Goodell Says Gumbel Won't Be Fired From NFL Network Job
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.--New NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said here today that he won't dismiss Bryant Gumbel as an announcer on the league-owned NFL Network.
Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue had said that Gumbel's status with the network would be up for discussion after the veteran broadcaster recently made highly critical remarks about the league, the owners and players' union chief Gene Upshaw during his HBO show.
Goodell said during an afternoon meeting with reporters at Giants Stadium that he'd met with Gumbel last week to express his concerns but had decided against firing Gumbel.
The NFL Network is carrying regular season games for the first time this season and hired Gumbel as its play-by-play announcer for its eight broadcasts beginning on Thanksgiving.
By Mark Maske |
September 6, 2006; 3:10 PM ET
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Posted by: Chris | September 6, 2006 7:51 PM
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Honestly, having Gumbel say something so controversial was a win-win situation. Now the NFL will certainly be able to say that the coverage of the games on their NFL Network will be unbiased and objective. Gumbel also gets to puff up and say he "tells it like it is." If I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd say the whole group probably cooked the thing up together.