“Roger Goodell should feel ashamed of himself”: NFL fans outraged as Dillon Gabriel admits his family will miss debut game because its in London

NFL: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns - Source: Imagn
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns - Source: Imagn

Dillon Gabriel’s dad won’t get a chance to see his son start his first NFL game. That’s because the Cleveland Browns are in London on Sunday to battle the Minnesota Vikings, and Gabriel’s father doesn’t have a passport.

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While scheduling games in the U.K. has long been a tradition in the NFL, the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, is taking some heat from fans for this one.

“Roger Goodell should feel ashamed of himself. Playing games in another country that doesn’t give one flying f**k about football is asinine. The kid is making his debut and parents can’t go bc they don’t have passports. That’s not on the parents. Play in the U. S.” said one fan.
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“How do the Browns organization not take care of this?” wondered another.
“That and who wants to see their son throw multiple picks, choke, and squander his opportunity?” said someone else.

Some believe the NFL will never be something that fans will care too much about, probably because their form of football, soccer, is such a popular tradition. When the NFL schedule came out, it wasn’t anticipated that Gabriel would be starting so early, with Joe Flacco named as the Browns starter heading into the regular season. Gabriel entered in the late stages of his team’s 34-10 loss to the Detroit Lions last week.

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International games can be challenging for families to attend, especially in the case of Gabriel, as he was only named the starter after some poor performances by Flacco to start the season. Gabriel has a big job ahead of him to try and turn around an offense that have been among the worst in the NFL. After four weeks, Cleveland is averaging 279.8 yards of offense, good for 27th in the league.

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Dillon Gabriel had simple goals this season

He’s being thrust into the spotlight earlier than expected, though he believes he is ready to perform. Despite all the competition at the quarterback spot in training camp, he says winning the starting job wasn’t his goal.

“It wasn’t ever about winning a job, it was just playing my best, playing at a high level,” said Gabriel.
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“I think when you continually do that and you’re focused on your game, that will naturally come.”

On Sunday, that moment will come when the Browns take on the Minnesota Vikings in London.

The Browns took him in the third round with the hope he’d be their future starter. That future has now arrived.

Cleveland Browns Nation! Check out the latest Cleveland Browns Schedule and dive into the Browns Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

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Edited by Joel Lefevre
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