Jeff Riger: Goodell Urged Suh To Appeal Suspension, Denies Lions Are Dirty
It was truly a rare experience at Ford Field on Sunday as fans that the Lions handpicked had a chance to be involved in a question and answer session with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. As the Commish and Detroit President Tom Lewand stood in the back of the Corner Lounge with wireless microphones in hand, it was very apparent that the season ticket holders in attendance were not going to ask about Ndamukong Suh or the Lions' reputation as a dirty team.
In fact, in one instance, Lewand thanked the fans for not inquiring about Suh, as Goodell quickly chimed in saying "oh I forgot about that." Lewand followed up, saying, "I didn't," and everybody started to laugh.
Of course, after the fans came the media and things were a lot different as members from various outlets gathered around Goodell, where it became all about Suh playing through the whistle. Overall, the theme was: How does the league views the Lions?
I had a chance to pick the Commish's brain, asking him if he agrees with the league's view that the Lions are a dirty team. Goodell disagreed with my statement and ask for me to clarify. I started to talk about the "after the whistle" penalties and the NFL.com article that was titled "Good Vs Evil" when Detroit played Tim Tebow and the Broncos. Goodell still disagreed.
The NFL leader also referenced some of the talks that he has had with Suh and even informed the media he told the defensive lineman to make sure to appeal his two-game suspension. Goodell also reiterated a couple of time that Suh is a great person and wants to do everything possible to help his team.
The commissioner also talked about the team in specific, as well, assuring the media that the league is not out to get Detroit and that the Lions will make the NFL proud very soon.
All in all, we really didn't learn a whole lot, as the Commish was very close to the vest and very PC as, I'm sure you would expect him to be. However, Goodell did seem annoyed several times that he was forced to discuss one of the 32 teams in his league being "dirty."
Watch the videos below for all of Roger Goodell quotes. Make sure to watch his facial expressions as he gets grilled about the Lions.