Pete Rozelle Interview (page: 5 / 9) Pro Football Hall of Fame	Print Interview

In the interviews with sports figures that we've done, the element of preparation keeps coming up as key to any kind of achievement. Has that been true in your career as well?

Pete Rozelle: Yes, it's very important.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Whether you're conducting a league meeting, you want to study up on all the issues and the potential pluses and minuses, and be prepared for anything that might come up. Your dealings with Congress, congressional hearings and so forth, litigation, press conferences. My staff would brief me, of course, prior to the big press conference I have every year at the Super Bowl. And the preparation is always a big factor.

[ Key to Success ] Preparation

Are you the kind of person who doesn't go into a meeting like that unless you're prepared?

Pete Rozelle: You try not to, certainly.

That also implies a strong sense of responsibility.

Pete Rozelle: You have to have that when you're in a position of authority.

Where does that come from, that sense of duty and responsibility?

Pete Rozelle: I guess my upbringing. My parents. As I say, I was very fortunate in having a great home life, and parents that cared about my brother and myself, relatives. It just came about through my growing up.

You mentioned that preparation is very important. When you're away from work, are you still thinking about it?

Pete Rozelle: Because of my love for sports, and the nature of my job, it was pretty intense for 30 years, and you have to be sure. I would take it home. My wife would know when things were tight, and she would hear me get up in the night, and walk around and sit and think. It's not something you can leave at the office.

It must have been very hard work, but it sounds like it was also pleasurable.

Pete Rozelle: Oh, very much so. I can't imagine a job that would be more fun for someone who likes football. And I do, and it was a tremendous experience, particularly to have so long at it. I got the job when I was young, only 33 years old, so I lasted 30 years.

We've been interviewing people in a lot of fields -- scientists, explorers, archaeologists -- and they all say it's very important to be a team player. But in your position, it seems like it's important to be your own person as well.

Pete Rozelle: It's sort of a combination, I think. Because, you solo in some respects, as commissioner. But you have to try and get, as best you can, all elements working as a team of the league to be successful -- the players, the coaches, the owners, And try to get the fans on the side of all of them. So it's a combination really. You are out there alone in many respects, but you try to create a team effort, just as in a game.

You were put in a position of tremendous power in the world of football, with many crucial decisions to make. How did you make those decisions. Did you follow your gut?

Pete Rozelle: I think to a certain respect, yes. But also, you try to follow the best guidelines you have, the constitutional by-laws. You have to interpret them from time to time, but in the final analysis, in some instances, it would be a gut reaction. But a gut based on preparation and study. Not just a fly-by-night gut reaction.

It doesn't sound like you did things impulsively.

Pete Rozelle: I try not to. I think it's best to take all the time you can. You don't want to dilly-dally around for months, but you should take all the time you have and consider all aspects before you make a major decision.

Professional athletes are such inspiring figures for kids, there's a tremendous identification. Why do you suppose athletes provide such an attractive role model?

Pete Rozelle: Well, they did for me growing up.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. I followed sports so closely. I just thought that athletes were tremendous. I watched their games -- we didn't have a television in those days, but I'd go to them. And if you liked sports, well then, outstanding athletes just became a natural role model for you. And you did not know much about them in those days. That's why I get very concerned when you have these instances that happen in sports, involving drugs, alcohol abuse by a player. Other incidents. Why, it's tough when you're supposed to be the guardian of the sport. You're repulsed by that, you know, you hate it. But people are people, and you just do the best you can and try to quiet that aspect.

[ Key to Success ] Passion

What do you mean when you say you're repulsed?

Pete Rozelle: It's something that always concerns me. You have drug or alcohol incidents, or assaults in bars, driving while intoxicated. If your neighbor does it, it's not going to hit the papers, most times. When an athlete does it, it's all over the front pages. It's one thing that always bothered me. We try as best we can to get across to the players that it's in the best interest of the young people of this country -- and in their own, for their own image -- to avoid such things. But you can't control everything a person does. All we could do is live with it and try to counsel against it.

You made some unpopular decisions regarding drug testing in your later years. Could you tell us about that?

Pete Rozelle: I think it's probably a natural, adversarial position between a commissioner in any sport and their players association, or union. I was very concerned about this problem. I wanted to be sure that we were clean, so I set up a testing program. Their union took it to arbitration, and got it softened a great deal. So now I will be criticized in the future for drug incidents, yet I was unable to execute a testing program that could stop it.

It's a pervasive problem in our society, not just for athletes, but athletes seem to be particularly tempted.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Pete Rozelle: I personally feel that drugs constitute the biggest major problem we have in this country, forgetting sports, because drugs create the medical problems that cause the increase in all our medical costs. They contribute to the homeless, that's a big problem many people see today, and a lot of that stems from drugs. So I feel very, very uptight about it, and I wanted to do as much as I could. Unfortunately, during the period that I attempted to develop a stronger program, why, the players protested, and they felt that should be individual rights and so forth, and they wanted to slow it down. And they were able to get an arbitrator to rule that there was only so many things you could do. But I think that most of the players feel the same way. I think that they know they want to be clean, want their teammates to be clean, want the sport to be clean. And a lot of them have a very strong feeling about their image as a football player. Hopefully then, some day we will be able to do something about that.

What is the great attraction of steroids for athletes today?

Pete Rozelle: I think it probably stemmed from weight lifting. They saw that some athletes could be helped with some workout, people could be helped with steroids. This spread over into other sports, particularly football.

How prevalent is it, do you think, among football players?

Pete Rozelle: Well, that's one thing that we could -- and we are today testing more frequently for. Because that can really be dangerous. So they were able to post penalties, putting them on suspension. I personally feel that the NFL -- I would think that they are pretty clean because of the testing.

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