The feud between Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and NFL Commissioner peaked when Jones threatened a lawsuit to block Goodell’s lucrative contract extension. That was back in November — but the fans in Texas haven’t forgotten.
Cowboys fans welcome Roger Goodell to Dallas with loud chorus of boos at the NFL Draft
Fans in Texas took part in one of the NFL’s finest traditions Thursday.
Goodell was roundly booed when he took the stage for the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, an event taking place in the house Jones built — AT&T Stadium. Not even the presence of an array of Cowboy greats, including Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, and Jason Witten, could save Goodell from the boo-birds.
“I can’t you guys are booing the Cowboys,” Goodell joked once he got to the stage.
It was the latest edition of a years-long tradition of jeering the commissioner at the draft. Fans ripped into Goodell at the 2017 event, giving him a warm Philadelphia welcome that lasted through all three days of the draft. Not even Eagles legend Ron Jaworski could elicit a positive reaction from the boisterous Philly crowd.
Before that, Goodell heard boos at the 2016 Draft in Chicago and, like clockwork, each year at Radio City Music Hall in New York City from 2012-on.
So why do Cowboys fans hate Roger Goodell?
In Arlington, Thursday’s boos were a bit more personal. Goodell drew the ire of Cowboys fans before the 2017 season by suspending star tailback Ezekiel Elliott for six games due to a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy. Jones had several complaints about the NFL’s handling of the situation, from the length of its investigation to the league’s decision to take action after police had declined to press charges. Goodell’s decision lit the fuse on a slow-burning saga that became a personal feud between one of the sport’s most visible owners and the man at the head of the league.
“I’m gonna come after you with everything I have,” Jones said after learning the news of the league’s discipline, according to a Nov. 17 report from ESPN the Magazine. “If you think Bob Kraft came after you hard, Bob Kraft is a p---y compared to what I’m going to do.”
Elliott appealed the suspension with Jones and the Cowboys’ backing, eventually taking it all the way through four different U.S. courts and all the way to the New York Southern District Court and 2nd Circuit Court before judges ruled his case failed to meet the standards for an injunction that would keep the second-year running back on the field. While he accepted his suspension and sat out Weeks 10-15, Jones’ crusade wasn’t over.
The conflict between the league’s main office and the Cowboys escalated when Jones threatened to sue the NFL over Goodell’s proposed contract extension. While he was able to draw the process out by a few extra months, the hot-headed owner eventually cooled off in time to see the commissioner ink a five-year, $200 million deal to remain on top. While Jones may have calmed his public criticism of Goodell, the fans at AT&T Stadium Thursday clearly weren’t in a similar spot.
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