The 2020 NFL Draft took place in a virtual setting on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The COVID-19 outbreak meant that coaches, general managers and league personnel had to remain in their homes throughout the team-building event. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was among this group as he announced picks from his basement, but he drew more attention for some subtle adjustments he made between picks.
Rodger Sherman of The Ringer noticed something specific during the draft broadcast, which caught some fans off-guard. He pointed out that there was a Mike Ditka bobblehead in the background next to Goodell’s camera. Having decorations to liven up the set is nothing new, but what drew Sherman’s attention is that it didn’t remain stationary. The bobblehead moved multiple times throughout the broadcast. It started on the bookcase on the standing set, moved to the TV stand and then began turning.
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I noticed this and now I can’t stop thinking about it—Roger Goodell is getting up and moving his Mike Ditka bobblehead between picks pic.twitter.com/5KDMhlxBMo
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) April 25, 2020
“Sounds like someone has never seen toy story,” one person responded on Twitter. Several others agreed and said that the Ditka bobblehead had been moving on its own. It was just waiting for Goodell to turn away before shifting positions.
While animated films were the source of multiple responses, there were some Twitter users that were ready to think about the potential “conspiracy theories” that related to the NFL Draft. One popular option was that the ESPN broadcast was not actually live. These users believed that the league event had been filmed weeks ago.
“I think it’s time to create a completely insane conspiracy about the draft being rigged and pre-recorded. We don’t anything better to do in quarantine,” one person said. This theory seemed to be less realistic for some users considering the number of fumbled phrases and incorrect details uttered during the broadcast.
Whether or not the Ditka bobblehead was moving on its own or as a part of an elaborate prank by Goodell was unknown. What did become apparent, however, was that it was not the only item disappearing during the broadcast. There was also a cupcake that appeared and disappeared over the weekend.
This led to even more questions from the fans as they tried to figure out what was happening when the camera panned away from Goodell. He has never been known as a jokester by NFL fans, but it was possible that he was attempting to change this reputation.
