American winner takes all

Chapter 459: Alliance President's Battle
"72 hours when a talented athlete was questioned by the public"

Los Angeles Angels team doctor: There is no evidence to prove that Ethan took banned drugs in previous seasons

The last Super Bowl champion may be banned

Ethan put down the newspaper in his hand. Within just a few days, a large number of reports about the drug test began to appear in the sports pages of major media. Even though Ethan had spoken out through various channels, he still could not avoid public opinion speculating in another direction - Ethan had been taking banned drugs in the previous seasons.

Any celebrity will be subject to some unwarranted slander. It can even be said that as many people like you as there are people who hate you, and Ethan is no exception. Even though the FDA pointed out in a subsequent report that Ethan "accidentally took the drug," it still cannot convince most of the public. After all, Ethan was famous for his "abnormally strong body" when he debuted. Some conspiracy theorists even think that Ethan bribed the FDA investigators.

But public opinion is just public opinion after all, and it cannot have any substantial impact on Ethan at present. The problem is...

"Someone in the NFL has been taking advantage of this opportunity to make trouble, saying that you should be punished to the maximum extent possible..." said the middle-aged woman sitting opposite Ethan.

It was none other than old Jones’s daughter, Charlotte Jones.

Old Jones had just acquired an LFL women's football team and now sent his daughter over to complete the team handover, sign a series of documents, and attend a press conference. During this period, Ethan met with her by the way. As soon as they met, she shared a lot of internal news of the NFL with Ethan.

"Who first proposed it?" Ethan asked immediately.

"Robert Kraft, the Jewish owner of the Patriots," Charlotte informed.

"This damn squid." Ethan sneered.

Charlotte obviously didn't know what Ethan's words meant, but looking at Ethan's expression, she knew that these words were not good.

"Who ordered this?" Ethan asked.

How could a shrewd Jewish person be the first to take action? Besides, Robert Kraft had only held the Patriot for seven years, and his seniority was not even as good as that of old Jones. It was obvious that he was being instructed by some force to attack him.

"Who else could it be? Lamar Hunt. He helped Robert Kraft when he acquired the Patriots. In return, Robert Kraft founded the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer the year after the acquisition." Charlotte said without hesitation.

The Hunt family poured a lot of resources into the creation of the Major League Soccer, and Robert Kraft also supported it with real money.

Before the Angels were founded, there were two major forces within the NFL, the Hunt family and the Rooney-Mara family, and neither side could do anything to the other.

As for the upstarts in the 90s, Jones of the Cowboys was often excluded by these two teams, otherwise they would not have gone to court. Ethan also learned this from Charlotte later.

It can be said that old Jones was quite lucky. After entering the new century, the emerging Angels and Ethan helped him share a lot of firepower.

"By the way, where did you get this information?" Ethan couldn't help but ask.

"I'm now working more in the NFL's league office, and I also serve as the director of the NFL Charity Foundation and the head of the league's women's rights protection working group, so don't let me catch you forcing those young girls to do something they don't want to do, I won't show mercy." Charlotte said with a smile.

Although it was said in a joking tone, it also carried a hint of loss. It was obvious that Charlotte, who was sent to the league office, had been completely kicked out of the succession plan and became a marginal figure.

This made Ethan start to sigh: "If I had stayed with the Cowboys, maybe everything would have changed."

Ethan was talking about the two of them officially getting married, and then overcoming all obstacles together to inherit the Cowboys club.

Charlotte suddenly felt embarrassed and didn't dare to look Ethan in the eye: "Why are you talking about this? It's all in the past anyway. I'm fine the way I am now."

"If you are unhappy working in the league office, you can come over anytime. Los Angeles is always open to you," Ethan said.

"Want to take me in?" Charlotte joked.

"This is not sheltering. It's my honor to have you come to work in the team." Ethan said with honey on his lips.

Then Ethan calmly mentioned taking Charlotte home for dinner and staying at his house that night.

Ethan didn't have any bad intentions, he just saw Charlotte coming to Los Angeles alone and felt lonely. It just so happened that she knew many of the women around him, so he had some company.

However, after careful consideration, Charlotte shook her head and refused.

"I'd better not bother you."

"Then I'll let Sarah Karen arrange a hotel for you. You can't refuse this time. Your father gave me a large sum of money. Even for this reason, I have to treat you well. Otherwise, who would want to invest in an LFL team in the future?" Ethan changed the subject.

Charlotte couldn't refuse anymore, so she had to agree to Ethan's request.

After Charlotte left, Ethan received an unexpected call. The caller was from the descendant of the Hunter family, Lamar Hunter's grandson.

"Mr. Ethan, we are deeply sorry about the issue of doping, but we will do our best to help you." The other party expressed goodwill.

But to Ethan, this kindness was a complete mockery.

"Tell me, what do you want to do?"

The other party did not beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "By the end of the year, a group of new people will be promoted to senior positions in the league office. Mr. Ethan, I hope you can support Roger Stokoe to serve as the league's vice president and be in charge of league operations."

"In exchange, I will be exempted from the suspension?" Ethan raised the corner of his mouth.

"That's not the case. In fact, any resolution is decided by voting within the alliance. We can't guarantee any results, but one thing we can guarantee is that your help will be rewarded. At least we can save you a lot of trouble." The other party explained slowly.

It was just a warning before, but now the Hunter family finally made a request to Ethan.

Ethan didn't comment. After hanging up the phone, he immediately contacted Charlotte who had just left.

"Roger Stokoe currently works in the business development department of the league office. He was once Lamar Hunter's personal assistant. After entering the league office, he worked under Paul's personal guidance. Privately, colleagues say that he is the designated next league president." Charlotte responded on the phone.

In the NFL, the league president is the steward of the team owners, helping them to make more profits, doing the dirty work for them, and also participating in collective negotiations between the players' union and the team owners.

However, the league currently has 32 team owners, but only one league president.

The president of the league will naturally favor the person who promoted him. Whoever can control the president of the league controls the core of the NFL.

"Is it possible... that you take over Paul's position and become the new league president after he retires?" Ethan suddenly suggested on the phone.

Paul has been in the position of president for too long and will retire in a few years. Whoever becomes the vice president in charge of alliance operations at this juncture will become the designated successor to the president.

"Don't joke around, I just work in a marginal department." Charlotte quickly refused.

"Charlotte, you and I both know that your abilities are no worse than anyone else's. You've handled both DCC and the Cowboys' licensed merchandise very well. You shouldn't be buried." But Ethan didn't want to give up.

"Lamar Hunt may have already received more than half of the support," Charlotte continued.

"That's not necessarily true. For the Rooney family, they would rather choose you than Lamar Hunt's assistant." Ethan imagined.

"Of course, there's your father who would choose to support my idea, and Wayne Huizenga, the Rams' Lady Rahm and the president of the Green Bay Packers could be additionally sought out, as well as the Hellas family of the Bears."

Eason mentioned a number of well-known "neutral people" in the league, and these teams have been carefully finding a balance between Hunter and the Rooney-Mara family.

"Then your ban..."

"At least there's still the second half of the game to play, and I can also take advantage of the start of the season to visit these people one by one." Ethan made up his mind.

·
"Dear audience, the wonderful football game is here again. This year's opening game is led by last season's Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Angels. We see coach Andy sending out all the main offensive players. The only flaw is that last season's Super Bowl MVP cannot appear on the field. In the announcement a few days ago, he was given an additional two months' suspension. We are afraid that we will have to wait until mid-season to see him play for the Angels." Madden of FOX TV served as the commentator for the opening game.

It is worth mentioning that before the start of this season, several team owners in the National League West wrote a joint letter, hoping to complete the replacement of the Angels and the Cardinals. This is also to balance the strength gap between the National League and the American League West.

This proposal was passed before the start of the season, which is also a good thing for the Angels. With two strong rivals in the National League West, the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams, the games against them will receive extremely wide attention and attendance is guaranteed.

At the same time as the opening game started, the private express that Ethan was riding in had already landed in Los Angeles, and the Rooney Mara family sent someone to greet him in person at the airport.

"Kate Mara?" Ethan looked at the young girl.

"Yes, Mr. O'Connor." She pursed her lips, and was actually a little excited when Ethan pronounced her name.

In the evening, the family hosted a dinner for Ethan, and Mara's uncle, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, was also present.

Ethan proposed his plan at the table.

"Allowing Charlotte Jones to eventually become the president of the league is just the first step. Our ultimate goal is to force the Hunter family to withdraw from the league. The problems left over from the beginning of the merger must be resolved." Ethan bluntly stated his ultimate goal.

The family leaders looked at each other, and then they realized that Ethan was finally on their side.

After Ethan was repeatedly provoked by Hunter and was forced to resign from his official management position in Los Angeles, he has been waiting for an opportunity.

As Hunter's mortal enemy, the Rooney-Mara family naturally wanted to do their best to support Ethan when they saw that he had finally expressed his attitude.

"Lamar Hunt has gone too far this time. He actually wants to promote his former assistant. Don't blame us for stabbing him in the back!" Dan Rooney's face was half hidden in the cigar smoke, and his expression was uncertain under the light.

During the conversation, Kate Mara's uncle also recommended his niece to Ethan, hoping that Ethan could give her some performance opportunities.

This was a piece of cake for Ethan, and he asked her to contact Lisa later.

After meeting the Rooney-Mara family in New York, Ethan met with Bob Harlan, chairman of the board and CEO of the Green Bay Packers.

"Ethan, I'm just exercising my voting rights as a representative of Green Bay fans. In my eyes, it doesn't matter who becomes Paul's successor. What's important is who can make the league achieve greater development." Bob Harlan continued to speak politely to Ethan.

"As far as I know, there will be a new round of selection within the Green Bay board of directors next year, and the league will then publicly support you to continue as Green Bay's CEO." Ethan threw out his chips without saying a word.

If Charlotte becomes the president of the NFL, it will be easy for her. She only needs to accept exclusive interviews from the media and reveal in the process how hard Bob Harlan works and how he fights for the rights and interests of Green Bay within the league, and then show pessimism about Bob's competitors, and she will naturally be able to influence the outcome.

·
Within half a month, Ethan met in person with several team owners. Of course, all of this was done in secret. The outside world only saw that he led a group of women to the Caribbean island not long ago, and did not know that he quietly returned alone.

The last stop was Chicago, and this time Ethan appeared in a cemetery.

"The person lying here is my father. He died of pancreatic cancer 20 years ago today."

"He loved football and founded the first professional football club in the United States. He was also one of the founders of the NFL. Until he was 72 years old, he was still the head coach of the team, directing on the field. He devoted his whole life to this sport."

Standing next to Ethan at this moment was an old lady with a hunched back and white hair. She introduced her father to Ethan in a hoarse voice.

Ethan looked around. In this inconspicuous cemetery on the outskirts of Chicago lies the origin of the NFL.

Virginia Hellas then placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone and continued to mutter to herself.

"I am old now and have stopped caring about the alliance. I'm sorry, young man, I can't help you."

She seemed to have guessed Ethan's purpose early on and rejected it directly.

Ethan shrugged and acted indifferent: "If your father were still alive, I think he would at least listen to my opinion."

Virginia suddenly raised her head, adjusted her glasses, and stared at Ethan: "Whether it's Lamar Hunt, Dan Rooney, or you, there is no essential difference between you guys. You just use football as a tool to gain profit and fame!"

Ethan seemed unhurried in the face of the accusation: "You are right. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money, but compared to that, I have a bigger plan."

"The NFL has a long history, but its influence is limited to America. Do you want to know who is the culprit? Yes, it is your father. He allowed each team owner to hold the same voting rights, which made it difficult to reach a consensus and promote it to a greater extent."

"I want to resolve this issue, to bring more unity internally, and at least spread the influence of the NFL to places that are more accustomed to English rugby."

"I think if your father knew about this, he would support me, right?" Ethan said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)