After all of the domestic abuse scandals, drug-related issues, and now child abuse allegations, the public believes that Roger Goodell should still keep his job as NFL commissioner even after the way he seemingly mishandled a number of incidents.
According to the latest AP-GfK Poll from September, over 1,800 people were interviewed and asked various questions about the NFL, most notably the recent issues that have characterized the league over the past few months. Out of over 950 "likely voters" the poll found that 50% of people had a favorable view of the NFL whereas 49% had an unfavorable view. Those who responded were split 50-50 in terms of their fanship of the sport.
As for their view of Goodell, 41% disapproved of his handling of the recent domestic violence arrests of NFL players compared to 12% that approved and 46% who were indifferent. That question was followed up by "Do you think Goodell should lose his job for his handling of this matter, or not?" to which 61% said he should not lose his job and 35% said he should. These results aren't too far off being that a total of 58% of the respondents did not have an issue with Goodell's handling of the numerous situations. There was only a 3% difference between the two questions.
The survey also asked the respondents about their opinion toward Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice. Regarding Peterson, the interviewees were asked if they think the Vikings' running back should be (a) Allowed to play in the NFL regardless of the outcome of the criminal case (32%); (b) Allowed back into the NFL only if found not guilty (55%) or; (c) Never allowed to play in the NFL again (12%).
For Ray Rice, the responses were a little different. 6% of the respondents believed he should be allowed to play in the NFL right now; 53% said he should be allowed back into the league after serving a time-limited suspension and; 39% believed he should never be allowed to play in the NFL again.
In a more general sense, the survey asked "Do you feel that professional athletes who have committed violent crimes should lose their jobs or not?" 80% believed such perpetrators should lose their jobs compared to 19% who did not, which is bizarre because a majority of people thought Ray Rice should be reinstated at some point despite there being video evidence of him knocking out his then-fiancée in an Atlantic City elevator.
Just for perspective, 35% identified themselves as Democrats, 32% as Republicans, 25% as independents, and 7% as none of the above.
Adrian Peterson is in court today to face the felony child abuse charges brought against him.
