From “Win One For The Gipper” To “Let’s Seriously Injure This Guy, So That We Can Win!” – Roger Goodell Needs A Major Promotion, Now!

There have been literally thousands of questions.  But most of them come down to this:  What does it take to win?  And that is what this book is about – winning.  Probably no other topic could have made me want to write again!  Because I think winning is great.  Not good – great.  When companies win, people thrive and grow…  Winning lifts everyone it touches – it just makes the world a better place.  When companies are losing, on the other hand, everyone takes a hit. 
Jack Welch, Winning

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Saints had bounties on Favre, Newton, Warner and Rodgers, NFL says

February 7, 2010 — Colts Locker Room
Defensive Coach:  Locker Room Speech
(What if it had been in this locker room?)
Okay, guys.  This Drew Brees is killing us.  In just thirty more minutes, he’s going to be proclaimed a hero.  He’ll hold his son aloft, people will swoon over his greatness, and most of all, we’ll leave the field losers. 
That stops here.  Get out there and injure this guy.  I want him carted off the field, not to return.  If the injury is permanent, so be it.  If the fans lose their chance to see a great quarterback play this game, so be it.  I want him hurt. 
Oh, and a few thousand bucks in cash to the guy who pulls this off.

Modern Day – Goldman Sachs Locker Room
Early Morning Locker Room Speech
Okay, guys. We want you to get out there to sell.  Sell this one particular investment.  It is the hot item for the day.
Oh, and by the way, when these muppets buy it, our other guys will be placing bets against this piece of _____, and when it goes down, as we are certain it will, we’ll make an even bigger killing.
Injure this investor.  Use everything you’ve got to get him to invest in this worthless piece of junk.  We’ve got to make the most money we possibly can off this person; we don’t care what permanent damage we cause. 
Oh, and quite a few thousand bucks to the one who does the best job today at harming this investor.

February, 2012 – Sanford, Florida
Neighborhood Watch Leaders Locker Room Speech
Okay, guys.  W’ve got to stand our ground.  If someone threatens folks in their home, we have every right to use the most lethal of force.
But, let’s not stop there.  If you see someone who looks suspicious, just walking around looking like they intend mischief, even if the police tell you when you call them that you should back off and let them handle it, well… we’ve got to put this guy down.  So, if it takes pulling out your gun and shooting this suspicious looking kid dead, go ahead. 

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I think these last few weeks have put it all in clearer perspective to me.  From the killing of Trayvon Martin, to the not-at-all-surprising-if-you’ve-paid-attention-at-all revelation of Greg Smith’s Goldman Sachs open letter, to the Saints so-very-justified penalty, I think it is time for a major national reset.

No, I don’t blame the Jack Welchs of the world.  Winning is good.  But at what cost?

I am close to livid over this column:  Severe Saints penalties a sign of abuse of Goodell’s power?  by Tim Cowlishaw.  I’m afraid that Mr. Cowlishaw’s sentiment is shared by too many, from the comments section to his column, to the football locker rooms, to the Wall Street investment “strategies,” to the unspeakably stupid decision made by Mr. Zimmerman in Florida.

What kind of society have we become?  If the Saints pay bonuses to their players to injure human beings, on purpose; if a Wall Street firm gets investors to invest in what others in the same firm are betting against; if the argument is that that’s just the defensive coach/that’s just another part of our firm, it has nothing to do with our salespeople selling this investment (“I didn’t know about this at all, don’t blame me” —or, actual quote from Drew Brees, {read it here}:  “I did not participate in any Bounty program, nor did I have any knowledge relating to its real existence.” – in other words, “that was another part of our firm; don’t blame me”); if the precious right to own a gun to protect our home turns us into “neighborhood watch marauders” who decide in advance who looks suspicious enough to shoot while walking though our neighborhood (“since he could be about to do something bad, let’s stop him now”)…

Enough!

Now, you will say that I should not equate these Wall Street actions and threats of a football injury to something as atrocious as the kiling of Trayvon Martin.  Of course, you are right.  One is much worse than the others.

But I think our society has a genuine need for a pretty hefty bit of soul searching about what we value, across the board.  I think we simply don’t do much “stop and think” work.

I’m ready to put Roger Goodell in charge of football, Wall Street, and a lot of other places.  We need strong enough penalties to stop this madness now.

“I don’t think you can be too hard on people that put at risk our players’ health and safety,” Roger Goodell said. “That is a critical issue for us going forward and has been in our past.”

I hope it is not too late.