Kiszla: As Beloved Broncos Owner Awaits Call from Pro Football Hall, Can We Put Bickering Bowlen Kids in Timeout? by Mark Kiszla Denver Post Jan
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Kiszla: As beloved Broncos owner awaits call from pro football Hall, can we put bickering Bowlen kids in timeout? By Mark Kiszla Denver Post Jan. 31, 2019 If it’s OK with Beth, Johnny and all the bickering Bowlen kids, can we call a ceasefire in the family food fight long enough to get Mr. B elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame? On the cusp of Pat Bowlen being granted football immortality, his children have raised such a ruckus it makes me wonder if they’re spoiled brats not to be trusted with upholding the Broncos’ tradition of excellence. I’d call the whole affair sad, if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t beat me to it. “It’s sad when disputes like this occur. It’s not something I think Pat Bowlen, who I knew very well, would have wanted,” Goodell said Wednesday, when Denver Post reporter Ryan O’Halloran inquired about the family feud over team ownership. “The Broncos meant a great deal to him and his family. I think this week, the best thing we can do is to focus on Pat and his contributions and his viability to become a new member of the Hall of Fame.” Hey, sounds good to me. It’s expected the beloved 74-year-old Broncos owner will earn an 80 percent approval rating from voters Saturday and finally be granted a place of honor in Canton, Ohio, as a contributor to the game. Let’s all raise a toast to Mr. B. But, in the meantime, can all seven Bowlen kids behave themselves? Or might Beth Bowlen Wallace be tempted to hurl a gravy boat at chief executive officer Joe Ellis for sitting in her father’s chair at the table? Could Johnny Bowlen, self-proclaimed blood of the city, get up and rub the pot roast all over his chest? Will Uncle Bill Bowlen, brother of the team’s ailing owner, fire more spitwads for lawyers to clean up? “I completely agree with the commissioner,” vowed Uncle Bill, trying to act like an adult, issuing a statement in support of a ceasefire. “This weekend is about Pat’s contributions to the NFL.” Gee, that’s nice. It’s too bad much of the past year has instead been about family members dragging Mr. B’s sterling legacy of Super Bowl trophies through the courts and the mud. I know, Broncomaniacs would rather worry about whether John Elway will draft Drew Lock to replace Case Keenum. But the only position more essential than quarterback to the team’s continued success is an owner who fully appreciates the responsibility of stewardship for a Denver civic treasure. In fact, a recent conversation with former Broncos great Champ Bailey about his own candidacy for the Hall ended with him asking me: “What is going on with ownership?” Mr. B did more than sign the checks at team headquarters. He set a standard. A larger-than-life image of the longtime owner stands sentry at the main entrance to the Broncos locker room, with Pat Bowlen’s mission statement affixed to the wall in all capital letters: “I want us to be number one in everything.” At the moment, the Bowlen family is closer to leading the league in dysfunction than returning the Broncos to the Super Bowl. It’s far-fetched to believe Goodell can arbitrate a resolution that pleases all seven of Pat’s children from two marriages any more than the commissioner made Tom Brady and New England happy with his ruling on Deflategate. From our spots in the cheap seats, either we believe Ellis is respecting Mr. B’s wishes by grooming 29- year-old Brittany Bowlen to follow in her father’s footsteps, or speculate Ellis and his fellow trustees have taken advantage of a man suffering from Alzheimer’s to wrest power from other family members. “If it was Mr. B’s wish to keep the team in the family, why not do it? Yes, Brittany is young. But she’s not that young,” said Bailey, who played for the Broncos from 2004-13, after arriving in Denver through a blockbuster trade with Washington. Bailey joined the Redskins as a first-round draft choice out of Georgia in 1999, the same year the franchise was purchased by a young entrepreneur named Daniel Snyder. “Daniel Snyder, he turned 35 years old the first season I was in Washington,” Bailey said. “Brittany Bowlen has to be better than him. She has a standard to maintain with the Broncos. She can’t let her dad down.” So what better time than now, with Mr. B awaiting the call from Canton, than to begin passing the torch to Brittany? Sooner rather than later, the Broncos should bring her back from her job at a global management consulting firm in Denver. Let her sit in meetings, while Elway and scouts discuss the merits of Lock as a franchise quarterback. At age 29, it’s time Brittany put her MBA from Duke into practice on real football problems. Let’s start here: Inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame are given a gold jacket. How does Brittany divide that precious jacket seven ways, without one of the Bowlen kids throwing a tantrum because a sibling got a bigger piece? Broncos ownership dispute: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says he may get involved By Ryan O’Halloran Denver Post Jan. 31, 2019 The dispute between one of Broncos owner Pat Bowlen’s brothers and the three-person trust that has run the franchise since 2014 took another turn Wednesday during NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s annual Super Bowl Week press conference. Goodell said it is possible he could get involved in the situation, which began in October when Bill Bowlen filed a lawsuit in Arapahoe County District Court demanding Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis, team counsel Rich Slivka and local attorney Mary Kelly be removed from power. “As you know, this is an ongoing dispute,” Goodell said in response to a question by The Denver Post. “It is one that our office and myself, in particular, may be involved with so I’m limited in how much I can say at this point in time. “It’s sad when disputes like this occur. It’s not something I think Pat Bowlen — who I knew very well — would have wanted. The Broncos meant a great deal to him and his family.” In December, the trustees asked the court to delay progress in the Bill Bowlen lawsuit so the NFL could determine if the dispute is an “ownership/team” issue or a “family” issue. Bill Bowlen’s attorneys objected to the stay request, pointing out that he does not own a part of the Broncos and thus should not fall under the league’s jurisdiction. As usual in this case, reading between lines is required. Was Goodell not praising the trustees for their work in Pat Bowlen’s absence, as he did the past two years, a sign he is disappointed in this saga? Did Goodell saying he “himself” may get involved a sign a decision on recommending arbitration is imminent and he does not want this carried out in court? If the NFL wants to start arbitration, what is the next move for Beth Bowlen Wallace, who has expressed her desire to succeed her father? When Pat Bowlen drew up his plan to have the trustees run the Broncos until one of his seven children were deemed capable and qualified to succeed him, Goodell and the league office approved the plan. During his Super Bowl Week remarks in 2017 and ’18, Goodell was adamant that the trustees were performing their duties as Pat wished. In 2017, Goodell said the Broncos were “compliant with our rules,” in designating the trustees to run the team and that “the trust has worked effectively in the short term.” Last year, Goodell said the trustees had done a “terrific job of leading the franchise over the last several years as Pat (has) focused on his health issues.” Bowlen stepped away from the Broncos in 2014 because of Alzheimer’s. “This week, I think the best thing we do is focus on Pat and his contributions and his candidacy to become a new member of the Hall of Fame,” Goodell said. Bowlen is a finalist for the Class of 2019 in the Contributor’s Category. The vote will be held Saturday. In a statement, Bill Bowlen said: “I completely agree with the commissioner on this. There is no place for my actions with the trustees (heading into) this weekend. This weekend is about Pat’s contribution to the NFL. It’s a time for his family to hopefully celebrate his accomplishments.” Through a Broncos spokesperson, the trustees declined to react to Goodell’s comments. Since last month, when Annabel Bowlen, Pat’s wife, filed a motion through her attorney to intervene in the Bill Bowlen vs. Trustees litigation, there has been no movement in the case as both sides have chosen to stay off the public and legal stage until at least after this weekend’s Hall of Fame vote. Goodell calls lawsuit against Broncos trustees and ownership dispute, 'sad, not what Pat Bowlen would have wanted' By Mike Kils 9 News Jan. 31, 2019 Careful as Roger Goodell was trying to be, the NFL commissioner did share some of his feelings regarding the Broncos’ ongoing ownership dispute. Speaking at his annual Super Bowl press conference Wednesday, Goodell was several questions in when he paused to take a drink of water as he was getting asked about the lawsuit filed against the trustees representing Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and whether he would agree to arbitrate the ownership dispute.