Fred Nance, regional managing partner for Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP, was a top five finalist for the position of NFL commissioner last year. The job went to front-runner and former-NFL Chief Operating Officer Roger Goodell, but Nance's NFL experience created a close race.
In 1999, after former-Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore, Nance negotiated on behalf of the City of Cleveland to help return not only a football team to the city, but the Browns' name and colors as well.
But perhaps it was Nance's luck that he wasn't selected for the commissioner job. This year, Goodell has been saddled with two major player scandals — namely the dogfighting allegations facing Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick and the several arrests and criminal charges against suspended Tennessee Titan Adam "Pacman" Jones.
Prior to Vick's August guilty plea to dogfighting charges, Inside Business spoke with Nance about how he would've handled these discipline cases and what changes he would've made to America's favorite professional sport. Below is an abbreviated version of the interview. For the complete discussion, go to
www.IBmag.com and click on "Blogs."
IB: With felony animal cruelty charges facing Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick stemming from alleged dogfights conducted on property he owns, how would you have handled this situation as commissioner?
Nance: I certainly enjoy the benefit of speculating from the cheap seats; I don't hold my tongue.
With the dogfighting situation, the subject matter is one that strikes a raw nerve with many people and has gotten people pretty excited about it.
It's a difficult balance to strike. On one hand, with the increased discipline policy the NFL has been trying to put in place, the commissioner wants to be consistent with that policy and try to send a signal that inappropriate behavior is going to carry a higher price tag not only for the players, but also for the team. On the other hand, there is a rush to judgment in all this that would make it inappropriate for the commissioner to act precipitously.
That's a long-winded way of saying I think I'd be pretty hard pressed to second guess the way Roger Goodell has struck that balance. What he's done is he has advised Michael Vick not to report to training camp and he asked the team to withhold a proposed four-game suspension that the team was contemplating, pending the completion of the league's investigation. [Vick was suspended indefinitely without pay from the NFL following the Aug. 24 announcement of his guilty plea.]
On balance, there's no winning. You can't satisfy the people that want to see Michael receive the severest sanction. On the other hand, there are people who think he is being railroaded and prejudged. So I think this is a good balance.
IB: One case where the commissioner did take definitive action was with Adam "Pacman" Jones, who was suspended for the year, which is rare for a non-substance abuse-related issue.
Nance: It was rare. Pacman was drafted in April 2005 and between then and his suspension, he's been arrested six times. One of which, he was arrested in connection with an incident at a strip club in Vegas where I think a guy was paralyzed as a result of the fight that ensued.
When you've got that much smoke against a single player, there is fire because the league's image is its stock-in-trade. As the money in the league has ratcheted up the cost of players' salaries [and] the money the teams make, I think the public is looking for a higher standard. So you have a guy who has been arrested six times in such a short period of time, I think it is appropriate for the league to take a stance and make a statement.
IB: Do you think the NFL is drawing the right line between conduct on the field and conduct off the field? Is it overstepping its bounds?
Nance: Unfortunately, there is no line when it comes to your conduct in public or your conduct that perhaps leads to criminal charges because those criminal charges become public. Your conduct off the field that is in the public [eye] can come back to reflect upon the league.
IB: What changes would you have made to the league if you were elected NFL commissioner with respect to discipline or any other area of the organization?
Nance: I know that sports and the celebrity of the athletes can actually be economic-development tools in different communities. We've seen that in spades here. I think that perhaps the league, and I mentioned this in some of my interviews that I had, [should understand] there are opportunities to utilize the celebrity of the players to drive economic development in a way that creates a partnership between the league and the elected officials and civic leadership.
Another is that I think the changing demographics in America, even though football is by far the most popular game in America both from a financial standpoint and a spectator standpoint, are changing in a variety of respects. The notion that the NFL has a three-hour product that's trying to be competitive in a digital, nano, three-second-attention-span world is something that portends issues in the future.
IB: Overall, how do you think Commissioner Goodell is doing so far?
Nance: I'd give him an A. He's got a real tough job and he has handled it with balance, with class and I think a lot of foresight into where the industry is headed.
IB: Lastly, when should (Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback) Brady Quinn start?
Nance: When he proves himself. I'm not in the position to really second guess the (contract) negotiation, but I'll tell you this, he was poised to be the next Bernie Kosar in terms of being the leader and the hero of this community in ways that I'm not sure anybody else on the football team has had since Kosar.
Cleveland was poised to love him and extend the honeymoon with the new Browns one more time and it's an open question as to whether this holdout is going to diminish that opportunity.
IB: Thank you very much, Mr. Nance, for speculating with us from the cheap seats.
Nance: Anytime.