NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held a Twitter chat on Tuesday, asking fans to submit their questions for him using the hashtag #AskCommish via the league's official account ahead of Thursday's NFL Draft. Proving their social-media savvy, the league even kicked things off with a Vine video:
(It appears Goodell was prepared to answer those Twitter questions with a pen and paper, but we digress.) The NFL apparently hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the NYPD's recently failed hashtag campaign, however, as goof-off trolls and more serious types armed with pointed questions about the league's darker sides gained widespread attention online.
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Many of the troll-y questions were just that -- the occasional funny joke interspersed with your standard fan idiocy.
There was this clever dig about Goodell's allegiance to NFL franchise owners:
Mr. Goodell - as a feckless multi-millionaire who shamelessly shills for billionaires, have you considered a run for Congress? #AskCommish— Steve U (@Steve_U_DS) May 6, 2014
There was this slightly clever dig:
If you were stranded on a deserted island, with only one book to keep you company, wouldn't that be better for everyone? #AskCommish— Steve U (@Steve_U_DS) May 6, 2014
This less-than-clever dig:
what's in your head, you know, since there's no brain? I mean, is it empty, or is it filled with, say, human excrement #AskCommish— luka (@lukavino) May 6, 2014
There was this guy who needs to get more creative:
How do you govern a league with your head buried deep in your ass? #AskCommish— Ray Delaune (@rdelaune) May 6, 2014
But this was actually kind of funny:
What did you know and when did you know it? #BENGHAZI RT @nfl: 30 minutes... #AskCommish pic.twitter.com/0ATPSXsBPW— Jack Kogod (@Unsilent) May 6, 2014
Some folks, however, didn't just pop jokes in hopes of retweets and favorites (or embeds in online articles ... touché, people, touché). No, some hit the commish with harder questions that had nothing to do with the NFL draft, but did touch on important issues the league clearly prefers to steer clear of.
Here's one about the league still not having an openly gay player:
Have the anonymous industry good ole boys decided the NFL can handle out gay players yet? Asking for a friend. #AskCommish— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) May 6, 2014
Here's one about sexual assaults committed by NFL players:
Any comment on Darren Sharper or the high number of sexual assault charges against NFL players? #AskCommish— Rohan Joseph (@rohanmexico) May 6, 2014
Here's one about the longterm effects of a violent sport, and how the NFL has handled emerging research about concussions:
Would you fine a player if it was found he was behind a massive effort to cover up traumatic brain injuries? #AskCommish— SportsPickle (@sportspickle) May 6, 2014
Here's one about the decidedly racial overtones of the Washington NFL franchise's nickname:
Would you call a Native American a Redskin to his face? #AskCommish— Kyle (@kappley) May 6, 2014
Even a fake version of The Newsroom's Will McAvoy got in on that action:
#AskCommish The NBA is kicking out an owner for being racist. You continue to allow a team to operate with a ethnic slur as a nickname. Why?— Will McAvoy (@WillMcAvoyACN) May 6, 2014
This will probably come as a huge surprise, but Goodell didn't answer any of those questions. However, he did answer some of the more, um, mundane ones. For example:
"@ChrisTebow #AskCommish Who is your favorite prospect?" I will meet 30 of them tomorrow. Respect them all.— NFL (@nfl) May 6, 2014
“@ericjuddTSHQ with 4 day draft, any chance more rounds are added? #askcommish” No, will keep 7 rounds per CBA.— NFL (@nfl) May 6, 2014
"@THEnflxpert #AskCommish rotating draft every year to each NFL city?" would love to. many teams host #NFLDraft parties.— NFL (@nfl) May 6, 2014
”@webbsyK68 when can we expect an @nfl franchise in London? #AskCommish” Don’t know but it’s becoming more realistic.— NFL (@nfl) May 6, 2014
“@mwaldinger93: @nfl Does all the criticism for being commissioner ever get to you? #AskCommish” What criticism?— NFL (@nfl) May 6, 2014
It's easy to make fun of hashtag campaigns that go a bit off the rails, but for every snarky mention of the trolling tweets, there was probably an NFL fan or two who saw the promotion as a cool pre-draft deal. And Goodell, for his part, kept a sense of humor about the whole thing:
“@JerryVerHaagh can I be commish for a day?” From seeing some of these #AskCommish tweets, you sure you want to??— NFL (@nfl) May 6, 2014
Way to evade the rush, Commish.