NFL News and Notes: New York Gives Pro Sports the Go-Ahead

Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, said that teams can now return to their training facilities after a two-month lockout. It is a promising sign for professional sports as New York was one of the hardest-hit areas in the United States.

While there is still a ton of work that needs to be done before the NFL can green light training camps, this is a step in the right direction. If New York feels comfortable letting athletes return, then other states may soon follow.

NFL Stars Help Set Record Rating

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning paired with Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods to set a golf ratings record. Nearly 6 million people watched “The Match” with the proceeds going to Covid-19 relief.

It was the most-watched golf production in cable history, easily beating the previous Masters record of 4.9 million viewers on ESPN. More importantly, the event raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief funds.

Woods and Manning won the match 1-up. Brady was getting ridiculed for his lack of golfing ability but did manage to hole out from the fairway late in the match to silence some of the critics.

NFL Executive Admits Pass Interference Review Failed

Troy Vincent, the NFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations, said that the NFL botched the pass interference review implementation. He said the NFL has already internally indicated that it would need to be more thorough when implementing major changes.

The rule was an overreaction to the blatant pass interference that was missed in the New Orleans Saints versus the Los Angeles Rams NFC Championship Game. While it was a terrible call, the new process didn’t do anything to correct the missed penalties. In fact, it was made much worse from a fan’s perspective.

What looked to be pass interference calls were challenged, and then the non-calls were left. It seemed that it was just a band-aid, and referees were going to stick with their original call most of the time.

NFL Owners Voted Not to Expand Rooney Rule

In many people’s eyes, the Rooney Rule failed to get more minorities fair and honest consideration for head coaching positions and front office roles. So, the owners voted to amend the process to try and further incentivize clubs to hire minorities for top positions.

The proposal stated that if you hire a coach or general manager who is a minority, you would be rewarded with a higher draft pick. A minority head coach (which there are only four of in the NFL) would move your third-round pick up six spots, whereas hiring a minority GM (which there are only two) would get you a ten spot increase in the third round.

Coaches and players, many of whom were of color, came forward and lashed out at the proposal, calling it “offensive” and likening it to “Jim Crow laws.” The proposal did not pass, but league owners are still working on alternative solutions to bring more diversity to these sought-after NFL positions.

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