ESPN’s Keith Olbermann railed against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during his show on Monday night, calling for the commissioner’s resignation or termination by league owners for covering up Ray Rice’s beating of his then-fiancee Janay Palmer.
Olbermann initially called for Goodell’s resignation in August when the commissioner suspended Ray Rice for two games as punishment for the brutal attack.
But on Monday, Olbermann said that, either “intentionally or by neglect,” all parties involved in the handling of Rice’s case covered up the violent attack.
“There is no other conclusion possible,” Olbermann said. “Each body, each leading individual involved came to a judicial conclusion about what had happened to Janay Palmer and what should happen to Ray Rice. And each, through deception or incompetence, misled the public, damaged the efforts of every man and woman in this country seeking to merely slow down the murderous epidemic of domestic violence and made a mockery of the process by which those who batter those they claim to love are to be brought to justice.”
Olbermann denounced their actions, saying they had no “remaining credibility” and demanding that “each must leave or be expelled from their current positions” because “it does not truly matter whether they had seen this video before today.”
He directed particular scorn at Goodell, calling for his resignation. Goodell’s actions “reduced supporting or watching NFL football to a distasteful, even a disrespectful act” because they “comforted the violent and afflicted the victim,” Olbermann ranted.
“Roger Goodell’s existence, who he is, what he has turned the NFL commissioner’s office into, is now symbolized by Ray Rice’s brutal left hand striking Janay Palmer and striking her again,” Olbermann said. “Mr. Goodell is an enabler of men who beat women.”
Olbermann also accused others, including executives, players, fans and reporters, “of failing to draw a line in the sand when one was needed most.”
Olbermann demanded a boycott of Ravens games until those responsible are gone. Or else, he warned, “we become accessories after the fact.”
Watch the video below, courtesy of the Keith Olbermann YouTube Channel:
