Poll: Few Americans Think Roger Goodell Should Resign; 89% Won't Watch NFL Less Because of Scandals

Few Americans agree with ESPN’s Keith Olbermann and the National Organization for Women that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should resign.

An NBC/Marist poll found that just 29 percent of Americans surveyed believe the commissioner should leave his post because of the alleged criminal behavior of several high-profile players. Video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching a woman he later married, and the indictment of 2012 NFL MVP Adrian Peterson on a child-abuse charge in Texas, rank as the two highest-profile incidents casting a cloud over the commissioner’s leadership. 

Vast cultural differences exist among regions on corporal punishment. The poll found a third of Americans supporting parents’ rights to discipline children with a belt, switch, or paddle. A slight majority of Southerners supported the rights of parents to employ such discipline. Adrian Peterson allegedly used a switch to discipline his four-year-old son.  

Just more than half of the respondents believe the NFL mishandled the recent domestic violence cases. That disapproval increases among men and self-described football fans. Nearly nine in ten surveyed said that the scandals won’t impact how much football they watch–with three percent saying the scandals will cause them watch more.