As the NFL was gearing up to kick its Super Bowl promotion into high gear, the latest Epstein files document release dumped a significant distraction into the middle of the fanfare.

Unfortunately for the league, the Trump administration’s long-delayed release of Epstein documents has become one of the moment’s biggest stories (and dare I say, much more interesting than the idea of discussing a Sam Darnold-Drake Maye gridiron matchup). And not only that, but the league itself has gotten drawn into things.

Some of the more eyebrow-raising emails involve New York Giants executive and co-owner Steve Tisch, whose name appears numerous times in the latest batch of documents. Tisch asked Epstein to connect him with women in emails from 2013 — years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor and prior to his arrest over allegations that he and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused women and girls.

Tisch described his previous ties to Epstein as “a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments.”

“I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island,” Tisch continued. “As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

Among the exchanges they had about “adult women,” Tisch wrote to Epstein to say, “Curious to know about (redacted) I will contact (redacted) ..pro or civilian?”

League commissioner Roger Goodell was asked at a press conference this week whether Tisch might face any consequences for those discussions, and he suggested such talk was premature. “I don’t even know the status of all the release,” Goodell said. “I know that three million documents came out last week. Listen, we’ll continue to follow any of the facts that come up and determine if we open an investigation based on those facts.”

But Tisch isn’t the only team owner who’s had to respond to an appearance in the Epstein files during the sport’s biggest week of the year. After his emails — some sent as recently as 2016 — turned up in the recent release, Washington Commanders part-owner Josh Harris, who is co-owner of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, released a statement via a spokesperson to WJLA in D.C.: 

Josh Harris never had an independent relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Harris sought to prevent Epstein’s attempts to develop a corporate relationship with Apollo. As these emails indicate, Harris sought to avoid meeting with Epstein, canceling meetings and having others return his calls.

Emails surfaced by the TrueHoop blog from the Epstein files do suggest a lot of phone tag, but they also refer to financial arrangements and to a breakfast that, according to Epstein, Harris attended with himself and Bill Gates.

Even taking both Harris and Tisch at their words that their involvement with Epstein was all above-board, that they both corresponded informally with Epstein provides a window into the powerful circle of wealthy executives with whom Epstein associated.

It seems fair to assume that ahead of the biggest game of the year, the league and its executives would prefer to talk about something — anything — other than some team owners’ ties to one of the most widely reviled sex offenders of our time.

Something far less controversial — like the Super Bowl halftime show, perhaps.

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