Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
JARRETT BELL
Deflategate

Sen. John McCain joins critics of Roger Goodell

Jarrett Bell
USA TODAY Sports
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

PHOENIX — Count John McCain among the legions wondering about how the NFL does business.

Arizona's Republican Senator and former presidential candidate slammed Commissioner Roger Goodell for his role in not diffusing controversies that have dogged the NFL this season — and for inaction in regards to the latest flap, Deflategate.

"I think these controversies would have gone away a lot easier if they had approached them from, 'How are the American people going to react to seeing the video of a professional football player knock out his wife?' " McCain told USA TODAY Sports, referring to the Ray Rice elevator video.

"If I were them, I would review my whole PR scheme."

The Rice case — for which Goodell admitted mistakes and the Mueller report backed up the NFL's contention that no one from the league office saw the inside-the-elevator video that was released by TMZ — is just one of several controversies that McCain said illustrated a pattern that questions judgment.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

The Deflategate controversy is another example, according to McCain.

"One thing we do in politics when there's an issue that arises, smart politicians have a rapid-response team. What is the reaction of Mr. Goodell in this latest one? He's MIA as far as I can tell."

Although Goodell hasn't publicly commented on Deflategate, the NFL has launched an investigation headed by executive vice president Jeff Pash and attorney Ted Wells, who previously conducted the league's investigation on the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal.

Regardless, McCain's passionate comments reflect how Deflategate and other NFL issues have resonated with one of the nation's leading political figures — just as the NFL's showcase event, Super Bowl XLIX, is set to be played in his home state.

"The whole scandal resonates very badly because just before the Super Bowl, which is the premier sporting event in America, the question is not about the contest," McCain said. "It's about the pressurization of the football. That's too bad."

McCain, who attended the Naval Academy, said that he has affection for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose late father, Steve, coached for decades at Navy.

Even so, McCain doesn't spare Belichick. He said he didn't fully buy Belichick's explanation during a Saturday press conference about the results of internal experiments that explained how the air pressure could have been altered during the course of the AFC title game.

"I'm a great admirer of coach Belichick, but I'm not sure he's the best at PR," McCain said. "He doesn't have a warm feeling about the media. It's obvious.

"His father was one of the institutions at the Naval Academy, on the coaching staff. And he grew up there. So I've always had kind of a special feeling about Belichick."

There's nothing like mixing a little politics with football.

In that vein, McCain sounded proud that he was sanctioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I'm barred from going to Siberia," McCain said.

He's also miffed that Putin kept the Super Bowl ring that Patriots owner Robert Kraft handed to him during a visit in 2005, thinking he was merely showing the jewelry off. Putin kept the ring and claimed it was a gift.

"That's a priority," said McCain, who is friendly with Kraft. "Get the Russians out of Ukraine and get that ring back for Bob Kraft."

Follow columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

GALLERY: ONE GREAT SHOT FROM EACH SUPER BOWL

Featured Weekly Ad