Paul Tagliabue

Paul John Tagliabue (born November 24, 1940) is a former Commissioner of the National Football League. He took the position in 1989 and was succeeded by Roger Goodell, who was elected to the position on August 8, 2006. Tagliabue's retirement took effect on September 1, 2006. He had previously served as a lawyer for the NFL.

Background

Tagliabue was born in Jersey City, New Jersey,^[1] the third of four sons born to Charles and May Tagliabue. He received an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Georgetown University and was captain of the 1961-1962 team. He graduated in 1962 as president of his senior class, a Rhodes Scholar finalist and a Dean's List graduate.

Tagliabue graduated from New York University School of Law in 1965. He has received honorary degrees from Colgate University and Northeastern University.^[2]

National Football League

After serving as a lawyer for the NFL, Tagliabue was selected by NFL owners to succeed Pete Rozelle as Commissioner of the NFL in 1989.

Expansion of the league

During his tenure as league's commissioner, six new franchises were introduced to the six different cities in the US. The Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans all joined the league as expansion teams while the Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, and St.Louis Rams were relocated from Cleveland, Houston and Los Angeles respectively. Subsequently, the Cleveland Browns were reintroduced as a continuation of the previous version of the franchise in 1999. The Ravens were actually considered an expansion team. The records, name, and colors of the Browns remained in Cleveland, to be assumed by the new team. The Oakland Raiders were moved back to Oakland from Los Angeles in 1995.

Response to September 11 attacks

Two days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Tagliabue announced that the games scheduled for the upcoming weekend were canceled. Tagliabue said the NFL was acutely aware of Commissioner Pete Rozelle's well-publicized regret not to cancel the games on the weekend following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963^[3].

It was the first time the league canceled an entire week's slate of games since the 1987 NFL strike.

A week later, it was announced that the postponed games would be added to the end of the regular season, pushing the Super Bowl into February for the first time.

Legacy

Praise

Proponents of the claim of Tagliabue's greatness point to such accomplishments as:

He took a stand against the State of Arizona for refusing to establish a state holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., like other states had done. In 1993, the Super Bowl was to be held for the first time in Arizona, but after an election, Arizona rejected establishment of a Martin Luther King state holiday. Subsequently, Tagliabue moved the Super Bowl to Pasadena. ^[4]
Forcefully and successfully promoting the return of the Saints to New Orleans after the disruption of their 2005 season in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Tagliabue is credited with convincing Saints owner Tom Benson to abandon any effort to move the team to San Antonio and with making the Saints' return to Louisiana a league priority.^[5]

Criticism

However, Tagliabue's time in office has not come and gone without its share of critics, who point to Tagliabue's legacy of labor peace was the center of controversy when veteran sportscaster Bryant Gumbel suggested the commissioner had manipulated NFLPA leader Gene Upshaw and questioned Upshaw's competence as a union leader. Gumbel closed the August 15, 2006 episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel with the following remarks, directed at Tagliabue's successor: "Before he cleans out his office, have Paul Tagliabue show you where he keeps Gene Upshaw's leash. By making the docile head of the players' union his personal pet, your predecessor has kept the peace without giving players the kind of guarantees other pros take for granted. Try to make sure no one competent ever replaces Upshaw on your watch." Tagliabue strongly criticized Gumbel for his comments.

Notes and references

^ Eskenazi, Gerald (January 28, 1990). "Super Bowl XXIV; Tagliabue Sweeps Into Action". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
^ Patriot's website profile
^ Mason, Andrew (2001-09-13). "NFL presses on after tragedy". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2001-09-15.
^ SouthCoastToday.com: MLK flap shaded first Arizona Super Bowl
^ Dave Anderson, "For Saving Saints, Tagliabue Deserves a Place in the Hall", New York Times, February 14, 2010.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Pete Rozelle	Commissioner of the National Football League 1989-2006	Succeeded by Roger Goodell

Template:NFL Alumni Order of the Leather Helmet Template:Walter Camp Distinguished American Award Template:Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

[1] Eskenazi, Gerald (January 28, 1990). "Super Bowl XXIV; Tagliabue Sweeps Into Action". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2009.

[2] Patriot's website profile

[3] Mason, Andrew (2001-09-13). "NFL presses on after tragedy". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2001-09-15.

[4] SouthCoastToday.com: MLK flap shaded first Arizona Super Bowl

[5] Dave Anderson, "For Saving Saints, Tagliabue Deserves a Place in the Hall", New York Times, February 14, 2010.

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