CHARLOTTE — Before Roger Goodell ran the NFL, Paul Tagliabue served as the league commissioner from 1989 to 2006. He’s in Charlotte on Sunday meeting with his friend and Panthers owner/founder Jerry Richardson. Tagliabue met with assembled media two hours before kickoff. Here’s what he said:
“Not speaking for the league, I don’t represent the league, but from my perspective I think I know a little bit about NFL players. From my perspective, they’re engaged in many, many positive things all across America, all the time, week in and week out. Some of it is protest and demonstrations, speech.