The NFL is perfectly comfortable with Steve Tisch continuing his duties as chairman of the New York Giants’ board after reviewing his past associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Everything we’ve looked at we understand,” commissioner Roger Goodell said on Wednesday. “I think we’re comfortable with him participating as the Giants suggest.”
Goodell last January said the NFL would “look at all the facts” to determine whether an deep investigation of Tisch’s relationship with Epstein was warranted.
And since then Tisch has remained front and center in the Giants war room on NFL Draft day in April and at games. He was strolling the halls of the Manhattan hotel where owners and representatives from all 32 teams gathered for the fall league meeting this week.
Tisch and Giants president and chief executive officer John Mara represented the team in the meetings.
So the sordid and scandalous emails released by the Justice Department that showed Epstein connecting Tisch with numerous women passed NFL muster.
There is no telling if more emails naming Tisch exist or any other ties to the since-deceased Epstein will be uncovered. So Goodell said the league will keep its options open.
“I think always we’ll look to see if there’s any new information, we’ll look at it and we’ll evaluate that,” Goodell said.
And this feels like the NFL is applying the Jedi mind trick on everyone regarding Tisch.
First, the league seemed concerned about Tisch’s ties, which led to Goodell’s search for information.
Then Tisch and his siblings (Laurie and Jonathan Tisch) requested to transfer their remaining 23.1% direct ownership stake in the Giants to their children’s trusts in March, following prior partial trust transfers completed in 2023 and 2024.
The final transfer was completed by September.
And that legal and financial maneuver was used by Goodell to make it seem as if Tisch was out.
“Steve, and John, and Laurie actually did some transactions as part of their estate planning and are no longer owners,” Goodell said in March.
Except Tisch wasn’t out. Isn’t out.
He’s very much in the owners’ club, as proven by his attendance and participation in their meetings this week.
And so Tisch’s contrite statement in which he regretted his Epstein association seems not quite so meaningful anymore.
“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments,” Tisch said in that January statement.
“I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”
All of this is, of course, a rough look for the NFL. It’s bad optics.