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NEW YORK -- Paul Tagliabue, who helped bring labour bid and riches to the NFL during his 17 years arsenic commissioner but was criticized for not taking stronger enactment connected concussions, died Sunday from bosom failure. He was 84.
NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said Tagliabue’s household informed the league of his decease successful Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Tagliabue, who had developed Parkinson’s disease, was commissioner aft Pete Rozelle from 1989 to 2006. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame arsenic portion of a peculiar centennial people successful 2020. Current Commissioner Roger Goodell succeeded Tagliabue.
“Paul was the eventual steward of the crippled — gangly successful stature, humble successful beingness and decisive successful his loyalty to the NFL," Goodell said successful a statement. “I americium everlastingly grateful and arrogant to person Paul arsenic my person and mentor. I cherished the innumerable hours we spent unneurotic wherever helium helped signifier maine arsenic an enforcement but besides arsenic a man, hubby and father."
Tagliabue oversaw a myriad of caller stadiums and negotiated tv contracts that added billions of dollars to the league's slope account. Under him, determination were nary labour stoppages.
During his time, Los Angeles mislaid 2 teams and Cleveland another, migrating to Baltimore earlier being replaced by an enlargement franchise.
Tagliabue implemented a argumentation connected substance maltreatment that was considered the strongest successful each large sports. He besides established the "Rooney Rule," successful which each teams with coaching vacancies indispensable interrogation number candidates. It has since been expanded to see front-office and league enforcement positions.
When helium took bureau successful 1989, the NFL had conscionable gotten its archetypal Black caput manager of the modern era. By the clip Tagliabue stepped down successful 2006, determination were 7 number caput coaches successful the league.
In 1 of his pivotal moments, Tagliabue called disconnected NFL games the play aft the violent attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It was 1 of the fewer times the nationalist compared him favorably to Rozelle, who proceeded with the games the Sunday aft John Kennedy was assassinated successful 1963. A cardinal statesmanlike adjutant had advised Rozelle that the NFL should play, a determination that was 1 of the commissioner’s large regrets.
Tagliabue surely had his detractors, notably implicit concussions. The contented has plagued the NFL for decades, though squad owners had a large relation successful the deficiency of advancement successful dealing with caput trauma.
In 2017, Tagliabue apologized for remarks helium made decades agone astir concussions successful football, acknowledging helium didn’t person the due information astatine the clip successful 1994. He called concussions “one of those pack-journalism issues” and contended the fig of concussions “is comparatively small; the occupation is the writer issue.”
“Obviously,” helium said connected Talk of Fame Network, “I bash regret those remarks. Looking back, it was not sensible connection to usage to explicit my thoughts astatine the time. My connection was intemperate, and it led to superior misunderstanding.
“My volition astatine the clip was to marque a constituent which could person been made reasonably simply: that determination was a request for amended data. There was a request for much reliable accusation astir concussions and uniformity successful presumption of however they were being defined successful presumption of severity.”
While concussion recognition, probe and attraction lagged for overmuch of Tagliabue’s tenure, his enactment connected the labour beforehand was exemplary.
As 1 of his archetypal decisions, Tagliabue reached retired to the players’ union, past tally by Gene Upshaw, a Hall of Fame subordinate and erstwhile prima for Al Davis’ Raiders. Tagliabue had insisted helium beryllium straight progressive successful each labour negotiations, fundamentally rendering useless the Management Council of nine executives that had handled specified duties for astir 2 decades.
It was a omniscient decision.
“When Paul was named commissioner aft that seven-month hunt successful 1989, that’s erstwhile the league got backmost connected track,” said Joe Browne, who spent 50 years arsenic an NFL enforcement and was a confidant of Rozelle and Tagliabue.
“Paul had insisted during his negotiations for the presumption that last power implicit matters specified arsenic labour and each commercialized concern dealings had to remainder successful the commissioner’s office. The owners agreed and that was a ample measurement guardant toward the tremendous rebound we had arsenic a league — an expanded league — successful the ’90s and beyond.”
Tagliabue forged a coagulated narration with Upshaw. In breaking with the contentious dealings betwixt the league and the NFL Players Association, Tagliabue and Upshaw kept negotiations respectful and centered connected what would payment some sides. Compromise was key, Upshaw ever said — though the national often was criticized for being excessively accommodating.
Tagliabue had been the NFL’s Washington lawyer, a spouse successful the prestigious steadfast of Covington and Burling. He was chosen arsenic commissioner successful October 1989 implicit New Orleans wide manager Jim Finks aft a bitter combat highlighting the differences betwixt the NFL’s aged defender and newer owners.
Yet during his reign arsenic commissioner, which ended successful the outpouring of 2006 aft pushing done a highly contested labour agreement, helium managed to unite those divided owners and, successful fact, relied much connected the old-timers who supported him than connected Jerry Jones and galore of the younger owners.
Tagliabue was calved connected Nov. 24, 1940, successful Jersey City, New Jersey. He was the 6-foot-5 skipper of the hoops squad astatine Georgetown and graduated successful 1962 arsenic 1 of the school’s starring rebounders astatine the clip — his vocation mean aboriginal listed conscionable beneath that of Patrick Ewing. He was president of his people and a Rhodes student finalist. Three years later, helium graduated from NYU Law School and subsequently worked arsenic a lawyer successful the Defense Department earlier joining Covington & Burling.
He yet took implicit the NFL account, establishing a adjacent narration with Rozelle and different NFL officials during a bid of ineligible actions successful the 1970s and 1980s.
Tagliabue was reserved by quality and it sometimes led to coolness with the media, which had embraced Rozelle, an affable erstwhile nationalist relations man. Even aft helium near office, Tagliabue did not measurement up successful that respect with Goodell, who began his NFL vocation successful the nationalist relations department.
But aft 9/11, Tagliabue showed a antithetic side, peculiarly toward league employees who had mislaid loved ones successful the attacks. He accompanied Ed Tighe, an NFL Management Council lawyer whose woman died that day, to Mass astatine St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a fewer blocks from the NFL office.
Art Shell, a Hall of Fame player, became the NFL’s archetypal modern-day Black caput manager with the Raiders. He got to spot Tagliabue up adjacent and thought him utterly suited for his job.
“After my coaching vocation was over, I had the privilege of moving straight with Paul successful the league office,” Shell said, “His doctrine connected astir each contented was, ‘If it’s broke, hole it. And if it’s not broke, hole it anyway.’
“He ever challenged america to find amended ways of doing things. Paul ne'er mislaid show of his work to bash what was close for the game. He was the cleanable prime arsenic NFL commissioner.”
Tagliabue is survived by his woman Chandler, lad Drew, and girl Emily.
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