Pittsburgh

I have been fortunate to spend my entire life in professional football. I have seen the National Football League grow from a struggling operation to its current position of extraordinary popularity.

More than 100 million people watch the N.F.L. every weekend. The league and its teams are also deeply admired across America - from Pittsburgh to Seattle - for the quality of our competition and for the work our teams, coaches and others perform in their communities.

But this popularity and respect have a downside. There are so many people who want to take advantage of our huge television audience: advertisers, the networks that carry the games, even individuals in the league itself. That was the case earlier this week when ABC used "Monday Night Football" to promote one of its prime-time soap operas.

The promotional video that ABC broadcast at the opening of the game generated an incredibly strong reaction. In the video, a star of one of ABC's programs emerged from the locker-room shower, took off her towel and leaped into a player's arms. At the Steelers offices (and at those of most other N.F.L. teams), we were flooded with phone calls and e-mail messages protesting the video's salacious content. Many of those fans said they were watching with their children and did not expect to see such material.

The league headquarters acknowledged that the fans who contacted us were correct. ABC's judgment was miserable. The opening was out of place and should not have been part of the broadcast.

I thought it was disgraceful. Worst was that it used one of our players in uniform in the locker room - who claimed that "the team's going to have to win without me." That is not N.F.L. football. The Steelers, and the 31 other clubs that make up the league, are a team. We play as a team. This promotion simply did not belong in that context, and that's what sparked my reaction.

The incident has also led to dialogue on a wide range of other issues and questions. One of those questions is, what does the N.F.L. represent?

To me, what the N.F.L. represents is clear: the game itself. Football is also America's sports passion, and the N.F.L. brings families and communities together in a unique way. Pittsburgh is feeling great about itself right now, even with a myriad of problems, because the Steelers are winning. Our rookie quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, is the toast of the city. The qualities of the players on our Steelers are as strong and positive as they were when the Steelers won four Super Bowls a quarter of a century ago. Overall, we have a tremendous group of young men representing our teams on the field and in our communities.

Our game represents special values: tough but fair competition on a level playing field, teamwork, an extraordinary work ethic and a diverse meritocracy. We represent achievement and excellence based on performance, not on extraneous outside personal factors.

The National Football League sits atop football, but the league's values have their roots in football at many other levels, in Pennsylvania and in thousands of communities across America. Its values are nourished in urban, suburban and rural communities; in thousands of football teams, leagues, and organizations; and with millions of coaches, players, and parents at the youth level.

Going forward, we have to stay true to what we are - the game of football - and not succumb to the pressure of outsiders to be something else. We also need to hold ourselves accountable and speak out when we see another team, player or official do or say anything that could harm the league's standing with our fans.

Our ultimate goal has always been, and will continue to be, to ensure that the N.F.L. is respected throughout America and viewed as an organization that positively influences millions of Americans of all ages and all walks of life. That is the N.F.L. that I know. Now we all have to live up to it.