WHEN A MAN BRINGS A RIFLE INTO THE NFL OFFICES, STOP LYING ABOUT BRAIN TRAUMA
Shane Tamura walked into the wrong set of elevators or he might have had aim at league executives, who haven’t been consistent through time about a concussion crisis that impacts players on all levels
The billionaires who run the NFL should be petrified. Instead, at best, they’ll ask why a Manhattan office building didn’t have better security operations. In truth, we live in a world where too many people are dying suddenly and a day doesn’t pass without a tragedy, so no one from Roger Goodell to Jerry Jones to Bob Kraft should ignore warnings that a madman wanted to kill employees in the league offices Monday.
Why would anyone be shocked that Shane Devon Tamura, believing he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, might have reached the domain of Goodell and league honchos if he didn’t enter the wrong row of lobby elevators? This could have been a moment of gun-firing devastation that the NFL might have warranted — if not deserved — on floors 5 through 8 in the structure. For decades, the commissioners and owners have said a concussion crisis is overblown when too many frightening stories have interrupted their financial missions. Why wouldn’t someone in the fray — who claimed he had a brain disease that can’t be definitively detected until after death — kill the people who dominate Sundays and nearly every other day of the week?
“He seemed to have blamed the NFL,’’ said Mayor Eric Adams, knowing the gunman and four others were dead in Midtown shootings at 345 Park Avenue. “The NFL headquarters was located in the building, and he mistakenly went up the wrong elevator bank.”
The league must do more in America than make hundreds of millions, as it gradually races toward the trillions. Starting with commissioner Goodell, the NFL cannot minimize reports about head trauma. Tamura, 27, was a high-school running back near Los Angeles. He was convinced CTE ruined his career, but he also had a documented mental health history — including depression and suicidal thoughts. He traveled to the building in a BMW driven from Las Vegas, where he worked in casino security. He double-parked at 6:30 p.m., carried an M4 rifle and left a three-page note before killing those in his way.
“The league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits,” the note said. “They failed us. Study my brain, please. I’m sorry.”
Study it. At least see if football failed him in the short term. Don’t just go wild on Tamura in the manner of President Trump, who said, “I trust our Law Enforcement Agencies to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence.” It’s up to the NFL to see why a man would make a long journey to wield bullets. Tamura was aware of former league player Terry Long, who was diagnosed with CTE and killed himself in 2005. He mentioned “League of Denial,” a PBS documentary about NFL concussions. Goodell will point out the league has paid more than $1.4 billion to retired players with mental issues.
That’s not nearly enough.
“An unspeakable act of violence in our building,” said Goodell, who will increase “security presence” at the offices “in days and weeks to come.” He told workers, “Every one of you is a valued member of the NFL family. We will get through this together.”
Maybe Andy Reid, in Kansas City, had it right. Why should the league be immune to violence that impacts all walks of life? “The people at the league office that had to go through all that — it’s a bad deal,” the Chiefs coach said. “We’ve got to try to keep peace somewhere here. There’s too much of this.”
“There’s a little bit more to life than just football,’’ Bears coach Ben Johnson said.
It’s stunning to think Tamura passed the NFL offices and didn’t depart the elevator until the 33rd floor. He shot and killed a fourth person before shooting and killing himself.
Did he want Goodell? Did he want the boss who makes more than $70 million a year and is looking at preposterous rights fees if he opts out of media deals? “My job,” he said, “is to be the best commissioner of the National Football League that I can.”
Then don’t just sit there and watch the police. Don’t just wait for Week 1.
Weigh in on Shane Tamura. See why he ventured across the country. “Mental health is a big thing in this world,’’ said Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans. “One thing we’ve talked about as leaders — you never know when a guy’s last day may be in this building. I just want to treat everybody the same.”
Meaning, make sure there isn’t a next time at 345 Park Avenue.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.