“I don’t do things for public relations. I do things because they’re the right thing to do, because I love the game. If you want to do the popular thing, be a cheerleader.” – Roger Goodell, in 2012, to TIME

Maybe Goodell, who didn’t make a misogynistic comment at all with that line, should be a cheerleader, because he does not make a very good NFL commissioner.

Oh, certainly, Goodell fits the profile and looks the part: a strapping lawyer with blonde hair and blue eyes, well versed and tenured as an NFL employee, saying all the right things in interviews.

However, behind those steely eyes lies the mind of a egocentric, greed fueled and power hungry man who’s blinded by the bright lights and the cash cow that is his league.

It seems as though the league has gotten worse off the field since Goodell took over the reins from Paul Tagliabue in 2006. From his random, inconsistent suspensions to how naïve he pretends to be on concussion related issues, Goodell plays the brilliant fool so well, you can see how he got the job.

Goodell’s latest bungled act was the two-game suspension of Ray Rice for his assault of his then-fiancée (now wife) last February.

After waiting for months to let it play out in the courts, Rog suspended Rice for two whole games – or two games less than recent drug violations netted other players.

Now that TMZ has done a very TMZ-like thing and leaked the elevator video for the world to see what Ray did, Goodell hides behind technicalities like not actually seeing the video himself and apologizing for misunderstanding the egregious act by Rice.

On one hand, he tells you that the NFL has been working to better understand domestic violence over the years, but apparently did not learn that you don’t interview the victim with the violator in the room, as they did with Ray and Janay Rice.

Goodell spins yarns about how the NFL just couldn’t seem to get their hands on the video from the hotel or the police, then hear from well-regarded ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson that the NFL security team is full of people with “former” titles that spent entire careers getting exactly what they want.

Goodell and the NFL did not see the video because they did not want to see the video.

The tragedy of Roger Goodell is he feigns his emotion, his pain and his condolences and then turns around and cashes the checks of millions who gobble up his league every single day.

In that same issue of TIME – the one that deemed Goodell “The Enforcer” – Goodell said that when Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend, then himself, it was a human tragedy. But days later Belcher’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, played their game. Goodell explained the players wanted to play, that it would be good for them.

What again about doing the right thing?

Keep cashing those checks, Roger. Or posing for those authoritative magazine covers.

The checks that go into the massive Scrooge McDuck money bank, the ones that fill your over $40 million dollar salary.

Goodell says he isn’t worried about his job. Says that he’d used to the criticism.

“Every day, I have to earn my stripes,” he says.

I just hope he doesn’t break his arm patting himself on the back for all his hard work in the areas of player safety and making the league’s players better citizens of society.

“People expect a lot from the NFL,” Goodell said this week. “We accept that. We embrace that. That’s our opportunity to make a difference, not just in the NFL but in society in general. We have that ability. We have that influence. And we have to do that. And every day, that’s what we’re going to strive to do.”

Whatever. It’s all noise now.

The simple fact is, the NFL wants your money. Nothing more, nothing less. And they know they’ll get it.

They care about the product on the field only as it pertains to enhancing the enjoyment of the event you’ve paid to see, either in person or on television.

And they could care less about the players who produce the product, unless it is a brand name like Manning or Brady, because the NFL knows that players don’t last forever and the league itself is bigger than any one player or team.

The NFL is not alone in its objective, mind you. Restaurants, hotels, car dealerships – before you get home, you’re getting buttered up in advance for your next meal, your next trip, your next new car. They liked your sweet paper and they want some more of it in the future.

If it takes a voucher to ensure you return, so be it. If it takes a measly two game suspension for beating up a woman in an elevator, fine. Goodell did what he figured would bring a little heat, but blow over long before that kickoff game in September.

This one backfired, but the next one might not. Sure, the media is clamoring for his resignation, but those billion-dollar owners, the ones he works for? They want more of that sweet paper, too. So long as it doesn’t destroy the gate receipts and TV revenues, Goodell’s job is safe.

Goodell could have and should have done more to send a larger message about domestic violence. He is right, the NFL does owe it to society at large to set an example. They have the influence to do that.

But that is not the world we live in. It sounds great in a memos to teams, but it does little to change anything. In the real world we live in, a subject of real importance that deals with how we treat one another, how we treat each gender in the roles of relationships is cut up and distributed to the masses on blogs, social media, Sports Center and talk radio.

Even when the NFL is wrong, or in a bad news cycle, it still gets the ratings and coverage it wants – lining that money bin with more paper.

Our addiction is the distraction Goodell and the NFL count on, each and every time.

Goodell has the ball, always has. He’s just been running trick plays for years, distracting us with his charm, his wits and his quotable lines of empathy.

Don’t forget: The Enforcer will protect the game, not the people.

Not even the cheerleaders.