Roger Goodell’s wife had a secret Twitter account that she used to defend the NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell has over half a million followers on Twitter, but few are likely to be more supportive of the NFL commissioner than @forargument was. That’s because the enigmatic account has been outed by The Wall Street Journal as the commissioner’s wife, Jane Skinner Goodell.As criticism of Goodell flooded the internet for his stance on the recent anthem protests— and of course, residual Deflategate issues — the mysterious account faithfully came to the defense of the 58-year-old league head. On 14 separate occasions since August, @forargument expressed its disapproval with various media outlets’ coverage of the commissioner. For example, in response to a Pro Football Talk blog post that called for Goodell to “solve the anthem issue,” the anonymous tweeter replied, “Please do better reporting. He is already doing this. You are behind.”
There’s a way to solve the anthem issue, and it’s on the Commissioner to do it https://t.co/w9BZb8FmGS
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 26, 2017
With neither a default picture nor any followers, the profile went by the extremely generic name of “Jones Smith.” However, a closer investigation by The Wall Street Journal revealed that the account was actually run by none other than Goodell’s wife. WSJ’s Andrew Beaton confirmed that Skinner Goodell had been the one crafting the 140-character internet rebuttals — and the former daytime news anchor has a written statement to prove it.
“It was a REALLY silly thing to do and done out of frustration — and love,” Skinner Goodell said in a statement to the Journal. “As a former media member, I’m always bothered when the coverage doesn’t provide a complete and accurate picture of a story. I’m also a wife and a mom. I have always passionately defended the hard-working guy I love — and I always will. I just may not use Twitter to do so in the future!”
“Sounds like what she did is what every spouse in America would want to do,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. He added that Goodell was unaware of his wife’s activity.
The account has since been deleted, but Beaton captured a number of Skinner Goodell’s responses prior to its removal.
After a hectic Week 4 of the NFL, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham spoke with director of the NFL Players Association DeMaurice Smith about the anthem protests. His interview did not paint Smith’s adversary, Goodell, in the brightest of lights, so naturally @forargument was there to fight back.
“Reads like press release from players’ union. You can do better reporting. (D Smith sounds like D Trump with the inaccurate firebombs),” she replied to Wickersham.
Team America patches, owner infighting, meeting miscommunications, no resolution: Inside a chaotic NFL week w @DVNJr https://t.co/8B9s02CqY4
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) October 1, 2017
And during the NFL preseason, McCarthy shared a photograph of the commissioner with a trio of Patriots fans at Gillette Stadium. Many thought the image was staged, for they found it difficult to believe that New England fans would actually stop and pose for a picture with the man who had suspended their beloved quarterback for four games. The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay joked, “Roger Goodell with three guys who will be disowned by their families tomorrow.”
roger goodell with three guys who will be disowned by their families tomorrow pic.twitter.com/xFwTyYE48X
— Jason Gay (@jasongay) August 11, 2017
@forargument responded with, “Why is everyone so immature? (Including you?) Let’s celebrate the new season.”
The account’s final tweet before its unveiling defended both Goodell and his father. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss tweeted a newspaper clipping from the 1970s, with the headline “Agnew Continues Attack on GOP Senator Goodell.” Former New York Senator Charles Goodell was the commissioner’s late father.
Nixon & Agnew attack Republican candidate for Senator from New York, tomorrow 1970: pic.twitter.com/8Ym6lIHwVo
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) October 9, 2017
While Beschloss merely was sharing the article on its 37th anniversary, @forargument spoke up: “Goodell courageous & was right in the end. Leadership is hard. Commish is doing same. Give him credit.”
However, Skinner Goodell’s passionate tweets were not what sparked the discovery of her hidden identity. According to Beaton, @forargument followed 46 accounts, including national outlets, high-profile athletes, and other celebrities. What ultimately blew her cover was the fact that she followed four accounts associated with the high school that the Goodells’ twin daughters attend.
