Woody Johnson's remarks about Justin Fields crossed the line

Much has been said about the decision of Jets owner Woody Johnson to offer blunt, candid, and harsh criticism of his starting (for now) quarterback, Justin Fields. It was a stunning moment, one that only seemed less jarring due to the nonchalance with which Johnson’s words were delivered.

His comments absolutely crossed the line.

What business owner publicly criticizes key employees? What business owner publicly criticizes any employee? A week after the story of the moment arose from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa venting frustrations at unnamed teammates in the heat of the moment, Johnson delivered a cold-blooded takedown of one specific player.

Even Jerry Jones has never done that.

Is it really a surprise? Bad teams stay bad due to dysfunction within the organization. And it all starts at the top. If the owner doesn’t know what he, or she, is doing, how can anyone expect the rest of the organization to operate effectively?

If the NFL were truly a capitalist, and not inherently socialist, operation, there would be real consequences for a chronic habit of steering the ship into every available iceberg. Financial consequences. But with the 32 teams sharing the white whale of TV revenue and 40 percent of the gate for every game, failing to make a profit becomes a Brewster’s Millions exercise for any NFL franchise.

One team wins the Super Bowl each year. All teams win the battle of the balance sheet. Johnson’s Jets will continue to swim in black ink, even if he has egg on his own face.

The real losers are the fans. There’s nothing they can do about ownership. As 49ers CEO Jed York once said, “I own this football team. You don’t dismiss owners. I’m sorry that’s the facts and that’s the case, but that’s the fact.”

And the NFL benefits from the fact that its fans are passionate, to a fault. This kid put it best, after the Jets’ seventh loss in seven weeks of the regular season: “I hate this team. I was born into this and I’m not gonna ever — I’m always a Jets fan. But, like, I hate this team.”

He hates this team, but he’ll still follow this team. He’ll still go to this team’s games. He can’t deny himself of this team he loves, this team that has become part of his existence, his identity.

Which makes it much easier for bad owners to continue to print money. And which makes it impossible for Jets fans to do the one thing they objectively should: Boycott everything about the Jets until Johnson sells.

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