ISIS, NFL Are Case Studies of What Happens When Leaders Don’t Lead

Both the White House and the National Football League needed videos to get them to do the right thing.

That was the analysis made by talk radio host Dennis Miller on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor last night, saying that neither President Obama or NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell were willing to go the mat until videos came out forcing them to act.

Leadership and integrity is about doing the right thing when nobody is looking. Or to put it in current terms, doing the right thing when you know what’s happening but a video hasn’t been made public yet so everybody else can also see what’s happening.

Obama knew for for over two years that ISIS was gaining strength and becoming a real threat. The NFL knew, regardless of when they saw the second video, that Ray Rice had punched his then-fiancé. There was no other plausible explanation.

When it comes to America’s role in the world and defeating ISIS, this is where leading from behind gets you. When it comes to the NFL, this is where putting profit and winning ahead of everything else gets you.

Ultimately, I believe public pressure from fans, activists and corporate sponsors will force the league to do the right thing and the game of football will be better for it.

The tougher question is what will it take to make the same happen with our current president.