Commissioner Paul Tagliabue with ESPN’s Chris Berman
Thursday, September 13, 2001

Chris Berman:  We have with us on the phone the Commissioner of the National Football League, Paul Tagliabue.  Commissioner, thank you very much for spending some time with us here.  Can you, not every step, but can you take us from last night until today on your decision?  Can you run us through the process and how it did change and made it really steadfast that you should not play football?  How did you arrive at that?

Paul Tagliabue:  No decision changed because I hadn’t made a decision until early this morning.  The process form last night was that I got up about 5:00 this morning and started to write out a memorandum to our owners, coaches, players, explaining what I felt we had just been through in the last 48 hours and how that affected what we should do this weekend. Then having done that, I discussed it early this morning with Wellington Mara, and later with Dan Rooney, and then with Gene Upshaw.  Gene and I had spoken late last night and knew that he was having a conference call with the players.  We had discussed late last night the probability that what we needed to do this morning was have Gene and myself and three of our owners who have had long involvement in the NFL in many different roles on a conference call with Gene, myself and Harold Henderson, the head of our Management Council group.  Those three owners were Dan Rooney, Wellington Mara, and Jerry Richardson.  We spoke this morning and it was really coalescence – coming together of ideas and perspectives.  On that call, I said for the first time that my decision was that we’re not playing any of the games.  I said it sounded as if each would unanimously support that.  They all said they would.  I told them I was going to speak with a larger group of owners in a few minutes and I would tell those owners of my decision and I would expect unanimous support for those owners and that was forthcoming very, very quickly.  That was the process.

CB:  Can you describe the fervor, if that’s the right word, of Gene Upshaw in talking about the players?  We’re heard from many player reps today – not just rank and file players – but player reps.  Can you describe the weight of that call from Gene last night and again today?

PT:  I don’t know that it was fervor.  We’ve all been stricken with grief.  We’ve all been focusing of the magnitude of the loss of life of innocent citizens and the despicable character of these acts.  And on Tuesday, Gene and I spoke early in the morning, right after the two aircraft went into the World Trade Center and even before the attack on the Pentagon.  Much of that conversation was about the safety and security of his employees, their families, our employees, and their families.  The first 24 hours really had more to do with the loss of life of innocent citizens, the pain and what we were trying to do within our own NFL family.  We have employees who lost their spouses.  It was really only yesterday that we started to have clear thoughts on what our alternatives were, what the short list of possibilities was.  We immediately concluded that the Jets and Giants couldn’t play because they were so immediately affected, the players and the fans.  The likelihood of the Redskins playing in Washington was very remote from the beginning.  So it really came down to whether there was some way and whether it would be wise to not have the Jets, Giants and Redskins playing and the rest of the league playing.  Maybe that would send a positive message that yes, we know we have many priorities.  In some respects, they include deferring to teams who have been most immediately impacted, but as a nation and as a league and as individuals, we have to be resolute and go forward.  This morning we concluded that the more sensible and appropriate thing was that nobody would play.

CB:  Commissioner, the White House obviously, to say what they have on their hands…you and I cannot really describe it.  Did you ever have a chance to speak with the President or if not, whom did you or the league talk to in the White House?

PT:  Neither I nor anyone on my staff ever spoke to the President nor did we try to.  We felt that the President’s priorities were enormous and his responsibilities as Commander in Chief were enormous.  We have a small piece of the world.  Some of our staff did speak with the White House staff, but mostly to determine the timing of announcements by the President – when would the day of remembrance be?  We understood all along that we had a decision to make that would be our decision and that would be consistent with the President’s direction given to the whole nation, not just given to us.  We feel that is what we’ve done.

CB:  Commissioner, it takes most of us, and you being in New York and seeing it right out your window or as you go to work and you live in New York as well, a  long time to comprehend what actually happened.  Forget the decision that the National Football League might have to make.  Forty-eight hours is a short time, but those that ask, ‘why so long?’  Sometimes it’s better to get as much input and really think about things before going forward?  What was your process?  Some might say it took a little while.  Obviously, you don’t feel that.  You made the correct call.

PT:  Most of the first 24 hours, as I’ve said, were focused on individual employees, and particularly those who had loved ones, spouses, brothers, sisters, missing in action here in the World Trade Center or the Pentagon.  We have some such employees whose spouses are missing.  I felt it was my responsibility to care for those employees and make certain our organization was doing that.  That really was well into the night, and early Wednesday morning.  We really began this yesterday morning – focusing on the games and brought it to conclusion within about 24 hours.  That was certainly timely in terms of our schedule.

CB:  You and I have spoken before.  We can all learn from history.  Unfortunately, this is history that we are learning from in an unbelievable fashion.  I only ask this in the context because had to be, in some part, to a man you respect greatly -- Pete Rozelle  -- who said at the end that he wishes – no one faults him for that decision in 1963 – that it had been different.  What part, if it all, did it play in seeing this thing out?

PT:  Pete’s decision to play after President Kennedy’s assassination was really at the backdrop. Certainly, everything he’s done is part of what I think of.  The circumstances here were so extraordinarily different, unprecedented, and particularly in the magnitude of the loss of life – of thousands of innocent civilians.  I tried to approach it in that way.  I got some very good advice and perspective from Governor Pataki, who was here with Mayor Guliani in New York. His perspective was we need to be resolute and strong and not be intimidated, but we also need to pause and pay attention to our neighbors and even strangers in their times of extraordinary need.  Then we can move on and have football games.  I think the players felt that way, owners did.  That was essentially the conclusion that we reached.

CB:  You know better than all of us – you’ve been Commissioner for 12 years -- dare I say, the social responsibility and the social fabric that the National Football League has.  You made a decision today in the best interest of the league as it pertains to the United States and its people and healing.  Did you know deep down that what you decided would impact pretty much everything else in the sporting world?

PT:  We learned from Pete that what the NFL does is lead.  But I also know from Pete’s experience and my own, you can talk to other people, such as Governor Pataki and Bud Selig, whose perspective was invaluable.

CB:  We thank you for joining us in what is a difficult few days for everybody.  More than that, we thank you for the decision that you and the National Football League have arrived at this morning.

PT:  Thank you, Chris.