Super Bowl’s Hollywood Moment Outshines N.F.L.’s Problems
The New York Times
Football saw its biggest star, Tom Brady, retire, new allegations of sexual harassment against a team owner, and a lawsuit that claimed the N.F.L. discriminates in its hiring. None of it seemed to matter on Sunday.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Blue and yellow confetti rained down on the field after the final whistle blew in the Super Bowl on Sunday night as the Los Angeles Rams finished off the upstart Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20. It was the Rams’ first Super Bowl title as a California team and a fitting capstone to the N.F.L.’s long journey back to Los Angeles.
The game, and its veneer of fireworks, flyovers and high-fives — watched by more than 100 million fans — also affirmed an N.F.L. axiom yet again: The action on the field trumps the league’s endless parade of scandals, controversies and debates.
Days before Sunday’s game, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell, at his pregame news conference, fought off questions about discriminatory hiring practices and the allegations of sexual harassment against a team owner that led the league to begin yet another investigation into how the Washington football franchise is run.
