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Paul Tagliabue

Paul John Tagliabue (/ˈtæɡliəb/; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 and served until September 1, 2006.[1] He had previously served as a lawyer for the NFL.[2] Tagliabue also served as Chairman of Board of Directors of Georgetown University from 2009 to 2015.[3]

Paul Tagliabue

Paul John Tagliabue

(1940-11-24) November 24, 1940
Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.

Chandler Minter (m. 1965)

  • John D. Rockefeller V.
  • (son-in-law)
  • Andrew
  • Emily

  • Charles Tagliabue
  • Mary Tagliabue

Early life and education[edit]

Tagliabue was born in Jersey City, New Jersey,[4] the third of four sons of Charles and May Tagliabue. He is of Italian descent.[5] Raised in The Heights neighborhood of Jersey City, he attended St. Michael's High School in Union City, New Jersey, where he starred in basketball.[6] Tagliabue received an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Georgetown University and was captain of the 1961–62 team. He graduated in 1962 as president of his senior class,[7] a Rhodes Scholar finalist and a Dean's List graduate.[8] In a congressional hearing in 1992, Tagliabue later revealed he had inadvertently played in a game where an opposing team would fix the outcome of the game in favor of Georgetown, which would be one factor in mind for him taking a staunch stance against gambling later on in his life.[9] Tagliabue graduated from New York University School of Law in 1965. He has received honorary degrees from Colgate University and Northeastern University.[10]

Professional career[edit]

From 1969 to 1989, Tagliabue practiced law with the Washington, D.C. firm Covington & Burling.[11]

He took a stand against the State of for refusing to establish a state holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., like other states had done. In 1993, Super Bowl XXVII was to be held for the first time in Arizona, but after an election, Arizona rejected establishment of a Martin Luther King state holiday. Subsequently, Tagliabue moved the Super Bowl to Pasadena; Arizona would finally host Super Bowl XXX in 1996.[26]

Arizona

Forcefully and successfully promoting the return of the to New Orleans after the disruption of their 2005 season in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Tagliabue is credited with convincing Saints owner Tom Benson to abandon any effort to move the team to San Antonio and with making the Saints' return to Louisiana a league priority.[27]

Saints

Post-NFL career[edit]

Tagliabue returned to Covington & Burling where he serves as senior counsel.[11]


In 2008, Tagliabue was selected to serve a three-year term as chairman of Georgetown University's board of directors.[28]


Tagliabue has also been honored for his work with gay rights group PFLAG.[29]


He has served on the advisory board of The Iris Network, a nonprofit blindness rehabilitation agency in Portland, Maine.[30]


In 2012, Tagliabue was appointed by current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to hear the appeals of the players suspended in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.[31] Tagliabue affirmed Goodell's findings of the investigation but overturned all players' suspensions.[32]


On September 4, 2014, Tagliabue was named to the executive board of DC2024, a group trying to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Washington, D.C.[33]

Awards[edit]

Tagliabue won the 1992 Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy. The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest international honor and was awarded to Tagliabue for his significant contributions to international sport.[34] On January 15, 2020 Tagliabue was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class of 2021.[35]

Andrew Paul Tagliabue, known as Drew (born 1969), who is openly gay resides in New York City.

[37]

Emily Elizabeth Tagliabue (born 1972); who married John D. Rockefeller V, a son of and Sharon Percy Rockefeller.[38] They have two daughters; Laura Chandler Rockefeller (born c. 2000) and Sophia Percy Rockefeller (born c. 2002)[39] and one son John Davison Rockefeller VI (born c. 2007).[40]

Jay Rockefeller

On August 28, 1965 Tagliabue married Chandler Minter in Washington, D.C. Minter was originally from Milledgeville, Georgia and they were introduced at law school. She graduated from the Georgia State College for Women before moving to New York City.[36] They had two children;


He and his wife reside in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

on C-SPAN

Appearances

at IMDb

Paul Tagliabue