Gary Bettman is the lucky one. The NHL commissioner takes plenty of abuse from the followers of his sport, but he has to be delighted right now that he’s not the running one of the three other major sports.
Baseball’s Bud Selig (steroids), new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (Michael Vick and other lawbreakers) and the NBA’s David Stern (referee gambling probe) all are facing major troubles. Even though he has the least experience, Goodell has been the most aggressive at attacking his problem. He handed out lengthy suspensions for Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson and Chris Henry and told Michael Vick to stay away from Atlanta’s training game. Bold moves designed to show that the NFL will not tolerate unruly behavior.
Selig has been his typical wishy-washy self in dealing with steroids. He can’t even decide whether or not to follow Barry Bonds’ chase of the most hallowed record in the game. He wants it all to just go away. Stern faces the biggest crisis of all. A league that already is surrounded by conspiracy theories, now must deal with charges that gamblers were dictating the results of games.
So, which league would you like to be running now?