Pending regulatory approval (which seems to be hardly a given), the NFL eventually will own 10 percent of ESPN. That dynamic has raised obvious concerns that the NFL will parlay its partial ownership into the potential airing of grievances about ESPN’s coverage of the league .

As a result, the powers-that-be are trying to ease the worries of ESPN reporters and analysts who fear being micromanaged by The Shield.

Most recently, that resulted in (according to FrontOfficeSports.com) Commissioner Roger Goodell communicating with ESPN employees at a town-hall meeting via a recorded message.

Per the report, “Goodell emphasized to ESPN employees that the league would not get involved in the network’s journalism.”

We have three points to make in response to that contention.

First, what

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