NFL Says Paris Games Will Return Despite Unrest
The NFL played its first regular-season game in France despite protests and calls to move the event. Commissioner Roger Goodell said he had “zero doubt” the…
The NFL says Paris remains on its international schedule after civil unrest prompted calls to move its first regular-season game in France. Commissioner Roger Goodell said before kickoff at Stade de France on Sunday that he had “zero doubt” the league would return, offering a clear signal to fans and local partners despite the security concerns.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints played as scheduled. The league also left open the possibility of placing an international franchise in Paris in the future, though Goodell gave no timetable or location.
“Zero doubt.”
NFL announces decision future Paris games
Goodell spoke at a Sunday breakfast hosted by Saints owner Gayle Benson, hours before the Steelers and Saints began the game. Joe Browne, the NFL’s longtime former executive vice president of communications, reported Goodell’s remarks in a post: the commissioner said the NFL would be back in Paris for another game and that an international franchise was “likely.”
The comments came after days of unrest across France and public pressure to relocate the event. The demonstrations began in mid-September with high school students and expanded to include protests over the cost of living and fuel prices. The previous weekend’s riots were described as the most violent in France in decades, with nearly 2,400 people arrested, according to The Athletic.
Before the game, Dani Watt, wife of Steelers star T.J. Watt, questioned the decision to proceed. “Tell me how this makes sense???” she wrote on Instagram, according to the New York Post. The Steelers later canceled a planned fan event in the Bastille neighborhood, saying they “felt it appropriate not to move forward with the planned Steelers House fan event in Paris.”
U.S. President Donald Trump also said the NFL could have postponed the match. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk called for the game to be moved to London, writing that “it's not safe for NFL fans to be in Paris.” The league did not change the venue or schedule.
Security concerns and global plans
The security debate had been public before kickoff. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Friday he trusted the league’s judgment on whether it was safe to play. “I definitely think that the NFL is alert to what's going on. This game means a lot to the NFL. If it was unsafe, then I'm sure we wouldn't be here,” Rodgers said at a news conference in Paris.
Goodell had said earlier in the week that he had spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that officials remained in contact with Parisian and French authorities. “We've made all the preparations,” Goodell said. “Protests are not unusual in France, as you know, and that's something that we will be aware of and make sure that the appropriate arrangements are made.”
For supporters and businesses connected to future games, Goodell’s comments indicate that the protests have not ended the league’s plans for Paris. The decision to continue playing there matters because the NFL is staging nine international games this season, with stops in Australia, Brazil, England, Spain, Germany, Mexico and France. But the remarks offer no specifics on when another Paris game might happen.
The franchise idea also appears less settled than the return of games. Peter O'Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, major events and international, recently said of an overseas team: “Frankly, it's not something we're spending a lot of time on day to day.” Goodell’s comment that a franchise was likely points to a longer-term possibility, not a confirmed plan.
Goodell also did not say when or where an international team might be based. His clearest commitment was to bring another game to Paris.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
