BOSTON _ NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has the most powerful job in sports and among the most challenging.
Whether it's the national anthem controversy, the fight over suspending Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, or the constant drive to make football safer, he understands that he can never please everyone. Nor does he try.
"It's impossible to make everyone happy," Goodell said. "But I don't think there's anything you can do in life where you can please everybody _ particularly in the world we're living in today. But I don't think that's the objective. It's obviously not impossible to manage a successful league like the NFL. We've proven that."
Goodell will be in the spotlight Thursday night when the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots open the season against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The commissioner will be returning to the lion's den, where Patriot fans are still angry about last season's four-game suspension of quarterback Tom Brady over an alleged football-deflating scheme.
But Goodell doesn't shrink from conflict. He sees the passion _ and the boos _ as a testament to the strength of the league.
"The NFL's popularity, the fact that it appeals to so many people, it's such a big stage, it's so relevant to society and has such influence, those things probably magnify any issues we have," he said. "That's OK. I think people have very high standards and expectations for the NFL, and that's particularly OK. We want that."
Goodell recently talked about these and a wide range of other topics in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He discussed the future of the league, as well as the challenges, opportunities, and even the lighter side of one of the most high-profile jobs around:
