Giants owner calls idea of flexing Thursday games ‘abusive’

The NFL has, at least for the time being, tabled the discussion on potential flex scheduling for Thursday night games but the discussion is still getting really, really heated. And there are strong opinions from both owners and commissioner Roger Goodell.  

Giants owner John Mara said on Tuesday that the idea of flexing games to Thursday night would be “abusive” to season ticket holders. 

Said Mara, via Sports Illustrated: “People have gotten used to going from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night; that doesn’t mean that they like it. This year, we could be flexed to Monday night, which I think is really inconsiderate to our ticket holders. To flex a game back to Thursday night, to me, is just abusive. I am adamantly opposed to it.”

Those are extremely strong words from one of the NFL’s most influential owners, and if he is that opposed to it it is really difficult to see the proposal really gaining the necessary traction that it needs. 

Still, Goodell argued on behalf of the idea said it is all done with the fan’s best interests in mind. 

“Listen, there isn’t anybody in that room, any of our organizations who don’t put our fans first. That’s really important,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in response. “Obviously, providing the best matchups for our fans is part of what we do. That’s part of what I think our scheduling has always focused on and flex has been a part of that. We are very judicious with it and we’re very careful with it, and we look at all of the impacts of it. So, before those decisions are made, I think we average in the years we’ve been doing it about a flex and a half a year. It can vary in any particular year. So, it’s a very important thing for us to balance with the what I would call season-ticket holders and the in-stadium markets, but we have millions of fans who also watch on television, so reaching them is a balance that you always strike and making sure we do it right.”