Recalling Bill Simmons calling Roger Goodell a liar

In its zeal to remain the Worldwide Leader in Sports, ESPN has never shied away from adding talent that doesn’t necessarily quite fit the buttoned-down Disney brand. Management has taken risks. Management has endured headaches. Management has tolerated mavericks as long as they contribute to the bottom line. However, management has limits, and ten years ago this month, Bill Simmons tested them greatly at ESPN.

ESPN never wants to harm its corporate relationships with sports leagues, but Simmons came to those crossroads at ESPN by calling Roger Goodell ‘a liar.’ The accusation led to a three-week suspension— one of the longest in the network’s history . It’s one of those moments ESPN would like everyone to forget. It’s one of the moments most in sports media will never forget. To criticize the commissioner of ESPN’s most important business partner and dare your bosses to punish you takes chutzpah, a lack of respect for your employer, and an utter lack of awareness.

To this day, we’ve never seen anything quite like it. The only thing close was Pat McAfee calling out executive Norby Williamson . And in the end, not only was McAfee not disciplined, McAfee won. Williamson was ousted last spring , and McAfee has emerged as one of the most powerful on-air talents at ESPN.

What caused Bill Simmons’ rant was a serious matter: Goodell’s handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case. On his Grantland podcast, Simmons called the commissioner a liar for saying that he had not seen the video of Rice punching his fiancée .

Simmons said : “I just think not enough is being made out of the fact that they knew about the tape and they knew what was on it. Goodell, if he didn’t know what was on that tape, he’s a liar. I’m just saying it. He is lying. I think that dude is lying. If you put him up on a lie detector test that guy would fail. For all these people to pretend they didn’t know is such f—— b——-. It really is — it’s such f—— b——-. And for him to go in that press conference and pretend otherwise, I was so insulted. I really was.”

To make matters worse (for him), Simmons taunted his bosses by saying: “I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I’m in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell. Because if one person says that to me, I’m going public. You leave me alone. The commissioner’s a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast … Please, call me and say I’m in trouble. I dare you.”

Simmons was not alone in his criticism of Goodell. He, however, strongly and recklessly accused the NFL commissioner of not telling the truth. It’s one thing to believe that in private. It’s quite another thing to publicly attack the credibility of the leader of America’s most popular sport.

Simmons had no direct evidence to back up that claim. Certainly, the NFL and Goodell let ESPN know that. If Simmons were a lower-level employee, he might have been fired. But Simmons was a pivotal figure in the evolution of ESPN.com. He created Grantland , a ground-breaking sports and pop website that helped the network grow and become a trendsetter in the online space.

But as powerful and influential as Simmons was, no one could make the comments and not face reprisal. His taunting of ESPN was the exclamation point. Plus, Simmons was a repeat offender, having previously been suspended twice.

The public reaction to Simmons’s suspension was fascinating. He wasn’t allowed to use Twitter during those three weeks and as a result, #FreeSimmons began trending. When Simmons returned in October 2014, he said very little about the suspension and instead previewed the 2014-15 NBA season .

The suspension marked the beginning of the end for Simmons at ESPN. He left in the spring of 2015. Then- ESPN executive John Skipper said : “I decided today that we are not going to renew Bill Simmons’ contract. We have been in negotiations and it was clear it was time to move on.”

Bill Simmons had worn out his welcome . The departure led to Simmons starting The Ringer , which was similar to Grantland, in 2016. Grantland was shuttered in 2015.

It’s worth wondering what could have happened had Simmons not launched that missile at Goodell. Could he have repaired his relationship with ESPN? Would Grantland still be around today? How would the sports media world have been changed? Or was it inevitably going to blow up one way or another.

Striking out on his own turned out to be a profitable move. In 2020, Simmons sold The Ringer to Spotify in March 2020 for a reported $250 million . By the way, the man Simmons called out is doing well too. Goodell received a contract extension last fall and reportedly earns $63.9 million annually .

Simmons’ post-ESPN success likely provided the blueprint for when another maverick left. Dan Le Batard seems to be doing just fine . Simmons’ exit also might serve as a lesson. Be careful who you criticize, and if you do, make sure you have the ability and wherewithal to make it on your own.

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