--- title: Chris Kluwe on Ray Rice: The NFL and Roger Goodell Are Lying description: The tape never lies, but apparently the NFL does, and it is past time we held them accountable for their actions. canonical: https://time.com/3314095/ray-rice-chris-kluwe-nfl-roger-goodell/ author: Chris Kluwe article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-10T14:59:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:01:34.310Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Chris Kluwe: NFL Would Rather Sell Women Pink Jerseys Than Protect Them og:description: In football, and in the case of Ray Rice, the tape never lies. But the NFL sure has. og:url: https://time.com/3314095/ray-rice-chris-kluwe-nfl-roger-goodell/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3babfe55ff7bdaa3/6986a29755a859ac63a82791/203f96dedc9642bf8268cb2d11bfaf81-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Roger Goodell og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chris Kluwe: NFL Would Rather Sell Women Pink Jerseys Than Protect Them twitter:description: In football, and in the case of Ray Rice, the tape never lies. But the NFL sure has. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3babfe55ff7bdaa3/6986a29755a859ac63a82791/203f96dedc9642bf8268cb2d11bfaf81-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chris Kluwe: NFL Would Rather Sell Women Pink Jerseys Than Protect Them > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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[Watch (HLS stream): What to do with Roger Goodell?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Sb2DlMw9.m3u8) (2:05)  _Published 2014-09-11. So Rice is gone, but after what many see as a series of missteps in handing down his punishment — what should Roger Goodell’s fate be?_ by [Chris Kluwe](https://time.com/author/chris-kluwe/) ## Chris Kluwe Sep 10, 2014 2:59 PM UTC by [Chris Kluwe](https://time.com/author/chris-kluwe/) ## Chris Kluwe Sep 10, 2014 2:59 PM UTC “The tape never lies.” It’s an all too familiar saying in the NFL, an admonishment to players that no matter how well you think you did, no matter what excuses you make, the truth is always there for anyone to see. Game tape is who you are, the signature of your work, and it is one of the most highly rated metrics that scouts, coaches, and general managers use to evaluate you. If someone in football personnel doesn’t watch the tape, then they literally do not know how to do their job. In the case of Ray Rice, Roger Goodell is claiming that he never saw the tape. Not the tape of Ray Rice’s on field performance, where he’s consistently been a star running back for the Baltimore Ravens, but the tape of an elevator in Atlantic City, where Rice unleashed a brutal left hook into Janay Palmer’s face, slamming her head into the elevator wall and railing, knocking her out. Roger Goodell — a man who spared no expense going after the New Orleans Saints during the Bountygate scandal, a man who has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner time and time again in cases of player discipline, a man known predominately for his willingness to find and examine all forms of evidence in cases of perceived misconduct — now wants us to believe, in this particular instance, after months of reporting by trusted League sources that the NFL factored what was on that elevator tape into its decision to suspend Ray Rice a mere two games, that he did not, actually, see the tape, and is just as flabbergasted as the rest of us that this horrific act of violence took place. Oh lawdy, bring the fainting couch. Based on everything I know from nine years of experience in the league, this is a lie. Those same media outlets, the ones that so trustingly reported what their League sources told them to report, are furious, claiming that their sources are now trying to backtrack and prevaricate in the face of unrelentingly hostile public opinion at a decision that treats the abuse of a woman so cavalierly. The public at large is furious at the decision to try and sweep under the rug an incident that occurs all too frequently in this country: a partner abusing someone who loves them. Nearly everyone is furious at the “business as usual” attitude of one of the most profitable sports leagues in the world, a business willing to blame the victim and make her apologize on national television in order to protect its brand. We should be furious. This charade of accountability has been perpetrated for too long, let too many players skate by with no real consequences for their violence against others. Ray Rice. Greg Hardy. Ray McDonald. Terrell Suggs. Perrish Cox. Chris Cook. Ahmad Brooks. Brandon Marshall. A.J. Jefferson. Name after name after name — a few who were cut by their teams, but most of whom were given a green light to continue playing in a league urging women to purchase pink clothing and apparel in order to drive viewership numbers up. It’s a league failing those same women when it comes time to do something that matters, to actually address the issue of domestic violence. Of course, I believe, the NFL, and by extension, Roger Goodell, watched that video. The tape never lies; that’s the mantra of the League, at every level. The NFL employs many people, who are very good at their jobs, to make sure they have access to that information, to get that tape, and the truly chilling part of all of this, is that the people in charge, almost exclusively men, saw that video and made a conscious decision to do nothing about it until their hand was forced by public opinion. Those in charge felt that this was just one more incident to be pushed to the side, ignored by both the front office and the team itself in pursuit of ratings and money. Those in charge felt that a woman being beaten into unconsciousness, right in front of them, did not matter as much as the perceived value of Ray Rice on the football field, scoring touchdowns and selling jerseys. Those in charge chose convenience over ethics, profit over a person. All the evidence was there, clearly on tape, but the will to act, to force change in a culture that desperately needs it, was not; not until public outrage grew so large that the NFL felt compelled to try and salvage some shreds of morality. The tape never lies. The signature of the NFL is one of enabling abusers, batterers, and worse, caught on police records all across the country, still employed by their teams because the NFL doesn’t think you care about wives, sisters, daughters and mothers, but only about your entertainment. The tape never lies. Numerous reporters went on record with information from trusted league sources, information that was nothing but public relations and smears, an attempt to minimize the shocking events the NFL thought we would never see. The tape never lies, but apparently the NFL does, and it is past time we held them accountable for their actions. _Chris Kluwe is a retired NFL player who played for eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings._ ## Transcript What to do with Roger Goodell. That's the question on many a mind after the revelation the NFL may have been in possession of video showing Ray Rice punching his then fiance as early as April. TMZ, of course, released that now infamous video Monday. And according to Goodell, that was the first time him or anyone associated with the NFL had seen it. I specifically asked the Commissioner, did anyone. In the NFL see this tape before Monday. He said no. Since then Ray Rice has not only been released by the Baltimore Ravens but also suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Something we saw for the first time today, you know, all of us. And it changed things of course. So Rice is gone. But what many see as a series of missteps in handing down his punishment, what should Goodell's fate be? Well, there's no shortage of opinion. One writer for the Washington Post says, he must go now. According to the Boston Globe, Goodell needs to go, but probably won't. And SB Nation citing a report says, he will never resign, Not really a consensus. Fortune says Goodell is out based on two possible scenarios. At best, he was duped by an underling. At worst, he lied. Either way, he failed at his job. And Mike Wise, who wrote that Washington Post piece we mentioned earlier says that's a damming offense. The only thing that can save him now is the greed of owners and good, old- fangled fans... Who don't give a lick about off the field matters as long as their guy is strappin' up Sunday. For all the chatter about Goodell resigning, some still think his job is safe because those same league owners won't vote him out. But a Monday Morning Quarterback writer says, the NFL's brand has been tarnished. The gap between Goodell's credibility and the credibility the league needs from its most powerful executive has never been wider. His leadership and judgement are damaged goods. Goodell has been commissioner of the NFL eight years. The League announced Wednesday it has hired former FBI director Roger Mueller for an independent investigation of the handling of the situation. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3314095/ray-rice-chris-kluwe-nfl-roger-goodell/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3314095/ray-rice-chris-kluwe-nfl-roger-goodell/"},"headline":"Chris Kluwe: NFL Would Rather Sell Women Pink Jerseys Than Protect Them","datePublished":"2014-09-10T14:59:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T09:01:34.310Z","description":"In football, and in the case of Ray Rice, the tape never lies. 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