Polian interview & the pull of the NFL (1 Viewer)

[HughHoney]

http://deadspin.com/bill-polian-disagrees-with-bill-polians-insider-opinion-1633593081

Bill Polian does an interview on ESPN bashing the NFL. The interview is cut short by what looks like technical difficulties. Polian is on the next Sportscenter, is asked the same question, and completely changes his answer. There's no doubt, IMO, that somebody made a phone call and he was told he needed to change his tune. What say you?

Also notice the third video at the bottom, you can watch how the interview is cut short.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

Crazy.

This won't get as much attention as it should.

 

[TheFly06]

Very spooky! I'm stunned! The video in the comments, it shows Polian getting "cut off" and losing his satellite feed. The anchor, Chris McKendry, had an eerily sly grin on her face, not thrown off one bit that her interviewee had just disappeared. No shuffling of papers, no stuttering, nothing. Like she knew it was coming...

 

[SameSongNDance]

I love how social media has evolved to bring shady #### like this to light. Still, I agree, this will get little to no exposure.. too much is going on right now.

 

[tone1oc]

Truly sickening. The NFL/ESPN is taking cues from North Korea now.

It makes me wish I didn't have such a sick addiction to fantasy/football and had the ability to not support them.

 

[drunken slob]

 

[vesihiisi]

"Ministry of Truth" is hard at work.

 

[Boston]

The NFL and how they treat "their Shield" is truly a religion...it's like the movie 'The Firm"...there is nothing they won't do to protect their brand...there is a real bad trend going on with regard to corporate America and Politicians...they are getting far too powerful and have an absolute inability to ever admit they are wrong or simply made a bad decision...they will throw anyone under the bus or pull any string if they think it benefits them...as for Polian (and ESPN in general)...can you ever trust he is on the up-and-up when you hear him talk anymore...

 

[Tool]

incredible

 

[Sinn Fein]

Shut. It. Down.

 

[the_vision]

First interview:

"For all the years that I was in the NFL, NFL security, and the NFL's ability to protect its integrity, the so-called "protection of the shield," was unmatched in American business. Forget about sports—in American business. I mean, you did not step out of line in the NFL, and if you did, there was an unwritten rule that when you were called into the office—and met with someone who was the commissioner or there at the behest of the commissioner—that you better come clean -"

"And if you work in the office, you better be on top of the details. The office was there to make sure that the clubs, the players, the reputation of the NFL reamined unsullied. "

"So this is totally, totally out of character for what I know of the NFL office."

Second interview:

"Well it can happen. It's a very large organization, much larger than when I served in the league office, maybe much larger by a factor of 10. When you have a large, bureaucratic organization, which that is, and there are some that think it is too large, very honestly. Things can slip through the cracks. Someone can make a value judgement who has no right to make that judgement. The CEO, who is in effect Roger Goodell, doesn't get all the information he needs all the time. "

 

[rickyg]

CRAZY. It's like that tom cruise movie "the firm"

 

[Holy Schneikes]

I didn't see anything incongruous between the first clip and the second. If the NFL had the power some are suggesting, the first interview wouldn't have made it to air. The "damage" was done at that point.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

I didn't see anything incongruous between the first clip and the second. If the NFL had the power some are suggesting, the first interview wouldn't have made it to air. The "damage" was done at that point.

What? He does a complete 180.

 

[HughHoney]

Bump for the afternoon crowd.

 

[ShamrockPride]

Boy, you guys sure are new to this media censorship stuff huh? I suggest you all watch the multiple instances of it with Ron Paul during the last election cycle. This stuff is common practice in politics. No surprise it is spreading into other television arenas.

 

[HughHoney]

Boy, you guys sure are new to this media censorship stuff huh? I suggest you all watch the multiple instances of it with Ron Paul during the last election cycle. This stuff is common practice in politics. No surprise it is spreading into other television arenas.

This obviously happens in politics. Never thought it would happen to this extent in the NFL.

 

[Vector]

It happens in every business. This is what office politics is all about.

 

[rockaction]

Boy, you guys sure are new to this media censorship stuff huh? I suggest you all watch the multiple instances of it with Ron Paul during the last election cycle. This stuff is common practice in politics. No surprise it is spreading into other television arenas.

What are some examples of Ron Paul and the censorship of which you speak?

I ask this earnestly and not as a "gotcha" thing.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

It's disgusting but let's play accountant for a second...1.2B from DirecTV, 1B from CBS, 1B from Fox, 1B from NBC, 1B from ESPN, and when you add it all up the number reported is close to 10 Billion and divided by 32 is roughly about 300+ Million in revenue and I assume that's before jersey sales, tickets, parking, hot dogs, and beer.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Again, think about this for a second. He says he'd be surprised if the NFL hadn't seen the tape. OK. it's on record. Now what advantage does the NFL gain by pulling the plug AFTER he says this? Now all of the conspiracy theorists have something to talk about, and it's not like Polian's statement isn't out there all of the sudden.

I'm not opposed to thinking there is undue influence by large corporations on the media on occasion, but this doesn't seem like that to me.

 

[ShamrockPride]

Boy, you guys sure are new to this media censorship stuff huh? I suggest you all watch the multiple instances of it with Ron Paul during the last election cycle. This stuff is common practice in politics. No surprise it is spreading into other television arenas.

What are some examples of Ron Paul and the censorship of which you speak?

I ask this earnestly and not as a "gotcha" thing.

I'd rather not drive this thread off-track by expanding on it as this is in the Shark Pool not FFA, I was simply drawing parallels I noticed between the 2. But I will say if you just go onto YouTube, there is plenty of material.

 

[tone1oc]

Again, think about this for a second. He says he'd be surprised if the NFL hadn't seen the tape. OK. it's on record. Now what advantage does the NFL gain by pulling the plug AFTER he says this? Now all of the conspiracy theorists have something to talk about, and it's not like Polian's statement isn't out there all of the sudden.

I'm not opposed to thinking there is undue influence by large corporations on the media on occasion, but this doesn't seem like that to me.

How would you explain two very different answers from the same person to the same question asked 20 minutes apart?

 

[Cripster]

A large corporation protecting its image and maximizing its profits. Hardly surprising. I find it interesting that nobody seems to be criticizing ESPN for letting it happen or Polian for being a yes man.

 

[tone1oc]

A large corporation protecting its image and maximizing its profits. Hardly surprising. I find it interesting that nobody seems to be criticizing ESPN for letting it happen or Polian for being a yes man.

ESPN has already lost all credibility with me and I rarely watch ESPN programming outside of actual games.

 

[rockaction]

Boy, you guys sure are new to this media censorship stuff huh? I suggest you all watch the multiple instances of it with Ron Paul during the last election cycle. This stuff is common practice in politics. No surprise it is spreading into other television arenas.

What are some examples of Ron Paul and the censorship of which you speak?

I ask this earnestly and not as a "gotcha" thing.

I'd rather not drive this thread off-track by expanding on it as this is in the Shark Pool not FFA, I was simply drawing parallels I noticed between the 2. But I will say if you just go onto YouTube, there is plenty of material.

Sure. Just curious. I was just hoping for a link. I will indeed YouTube it.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Again, think about this for a second. He says he'd be surprised if the NFL hadn't seen the tape. OK. it's on record. Now what advantage does the NFL gain by pulling the plug AFTER he says this? Now all of the conspiracy theorists have something to talk about, and it's not like Polian's statement isn't out there all of the sudden.

I'm not opposed to thinking there is undue influence by large corporations on the media on occasion, but this doesn't seem like that to me.

How would you explain two very different answers from the same person to the same question asked 20 minutes apart?

I think they were different answers to different questions. He said he would be very surprised if the NFL didn't have it. Later he said that Goodell might not have had it, which is not the same thing.

Whether I or anyone believes that scenario or not, is another question. Maybe he got a call between sessions - that I could believe. But it's the pulling the cord I don't really believe, because it doesn't make sense to me. And I don't really think he really did the 180 that seems to be implied in this thread. Maybe a 110?

 

[tone1oc]

Again, think about this for a second. He says he'd be surprised if the NFL hadn't seen the tape. OK. it's on record. Now what advantage does the NFL gain by pulling the plug AFTER he says this? Now all of the conspiracy theorists have something to talk about, and it's not like Polian's statement isn't out there all of the sudden.

I'm not opposed to thinking there is undue influence by large corporations on the media on occasion, but this doesn't seem like that to me.

How would you explain two very different answers from the same person to the same question asked 20 minutes apart?

I think they were different answers to different questions. He said he would be very surprised if the NFL didn't have it. Later he said that Goodell might not have had it, which is not the same thing.

Whether I or anyone believes that scenario or not, is another question. Maybe he got a call between sessions - that I could believe. But it's the pulling the cord I don't really believe, because it doesn't make sense to me. And I don't really think he really did the 180 that seems to be implied in this thread. Maybe a 110?

I'll take that answer I guess.. but I think you are being intentionally obtuse, carry on with your head in the sand

 

[Tool]

Again, think about this for a second. He says he'd be surprised if the NFL hadn't seen the tape. OK. it's on record. Now what advantage does the NFL gain by pulling the plug AFTER he says this? Now all of the conspiracy theorists have something to talk about, and it's not like Polian's statement isn't out there all of the sudden.

I'm not opposed to thinking there is undue influence by large corporations on the media on occasion, but this doesn't seem like that to me.

This is live TV right? so they can't stop him from saying what he did. All they can do is pull the plug so to speak. Tell him to change his viewpoint, and bring him back on to ask him basically the same question to get a different answer. Which is better than just have the first interview out there.

 

[dschuler]

This happens everyday on all the major news outlets. Ron Paul got completely blacklisted in a way like this over the last seven or eight years. In this particular instance, it looks like the damage had already been done, so I don't see the benefit. Also, I think ESPN wouldn't mind the NFL getting burned. They have been quick to bash them so I don't understand why they would go out of their way to help them on something this small.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Again, think about this for a second. He says he'd be surprised if the NFL hadn't seen the tape. OK. it's on record. Now what advantage does the NFL gain by pulling the plug AFTER he says this? Now all of the conspiracy theorists have something to talk about, and it's not like Polian's statement isn't out there all of the sudden.

I'm not opposed to thinking there is undue influence by large corporations on the media on occasion, but this doesn't seem like that to me.

This is live TV right? so they can't stop him from saying what he did. All they can do is pull the plug so to speak. Tell him to change his viewpoint, and bring him back on to ask him basically the same question to get a different answer. Which is better than just have the first interview out there.

No it isn't. More people are talking about Polian's "first" opinion than they would have been if the "plug had not been pulled". This thread doesn't even exist without the newscast interruption, which is likely better for the NFL.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

Again, think about this for a second. He says he'd be surprised if the NFL hadn't seen the tape. OK. it's on record. Now what advantage does the NFL gain by pulling the plug AFTER he says this? Now all of the conspiracy theorists have something to talk about, and it's not like Polian's statement isn't out there all of the sudden.

I'm not opposed to thinking there is undue influence by large corporations on the media on occasion, but this doesn't seem like that to me.

How would you explain two very different answers from the same person to the same question asked 20 minutes apart?

I think they were different answers to different questions. He said he would be very surprised if the NFL didn't have it. Later he said that Goodell might not have had it, which is not the same thing.

Whether I or anyone believes that scenario or not, is another question. Maybe he got a call between sessions - that I could believe. But it's the pulling the cord I don't really believe, because it doesn't make sense to me. And I don't really think he really did the 180 that seems to be implied in this thread. Maybe a 110?

I'll take that answer I guess.. but I think you are being intentionally obtuse, carry on with your head in the sand

I assure you I am never INTENTIONALLY obtuse. I'm obtuse enough without my help. I'll bust out the tinfoil hat when I believe an organization has something to gain from the alleged nefarious activity.