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Paul Tagliabue (born November 24, 1940) is an American sports executive. He has been the Commissioner of the National Football League since 1989. He had previously served as a lawyer for the NFL.
Tagliabue played basketball at Georgetown University before the school became a major basketball power. He held the school's career rebounding record for over 20 years; his record was broken by Patrick Ewing.
On September 11, 2001, after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the NFL for the first time ever, called off all football games the weekend after. Even though it has been a tradition in sports for all to perform in times of great personal tragedy, Tagliabue took no chances and ordered all games cancelled, because the events were so deadly and it was not a time for fun and games, especially after seeing so much death and destruction live on television. Players also agreed that no one can have a stadium full of people having fun after having seen death and destruction. Most importantly, the dreadful message: never ever again, can safety be taken for granted. Because of the attacks, the Super Bowl every year has been designated a National Special Security Event.
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