Commissioner Roger Goodell told NFL teams on Thursday that the draft, scheduled for April 23-25, will go on as originally scheduled … and he doesn’t want to hear criticism about the decision.

He wrote in the memo issued to teams about that draft that: “Public discussion of issues relating to the Draft serves no useful purpose and is grounds for disciplinary action.”

The draft was supposed to be a big outdoor production in Las Vegas, but changes had to be made because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Goodell said that “public health conditions are highly uncertain” and there was no guarantee of significant improvement by moving it to a later date as reasons for not moving the date of the draft, in the memo to the teams.

The draft has become a huge extravaganza since leaving New York in 2015.

But the 2020 event will be scaled down and “televised in a way that reflects current conditions” Goodell said in the memo.

Prospects and their families will not be at the draft. It is possible the draft will more resemble a studio TV show.

Even without the big party on the Strip, the draft should still draw considerable attention and TV ratings while the rest of the sports world is largely shut down because of the coronavirus.

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Goodell instructed the 32 teams to close their facilities to all but a select few employees on Wednesday. On Thursday, he told teams to plan to conduct draft operations outside of team facilities and with the ability to talk to other teams as well as draft headquarters.

The WNBA draft scheduled for April 17 will also go on, but in virtual fashion.

Goodell’s decision to go on with the draft will likely be met with some criticism when most other sports have ceased operations in the midst of the pandemic.

The Big Lead’s Kyle Koster shared his thoughts on the decision.

“There are no easy decisions right now,” he wrote. “Conducting the draft will provide a distraction to a nation desperate for one. At the same time, it’s fair to say the league is hurtling through these uncertain times with complete indifference and an unrealistic expectation that they won’t have to make serious concessions. A critical thinker could wonder what makes them so sure they’ll even have a season come fall. But a warning like this is only included when it’s a controversial choice. If you have to employ a prophylactic against criticism, it’s probably warranted. What’s interesting here is that the complaint from owners isn’t that the whole endeavor is tone-deaf. Instead, they are concerned about not being able to make their picks from their War Rooms. Some teams won’t have access to their facilities due to lockdown restrictions. Most teams haven’t been able to do the requisite scouting work. There will be a distinct competitive disadvantage between clubs due to local restrictions. Worse, they may not have accurate body-size measurables.”

Koster continued: “Reading the room is not a ubiquitous skill among NFL types. The desire to hold a draft amid this insanity and the desire for front offices to treat it six times more important than it is are connected. Football and war have both been fetishized to absurd levels, and when you combine the two a perfect cocktail of obliviousness is created. Giving people something to watch for three nights (or seven) is not healing a nation. Selecting a fourth-round linebacker out of UCLA is not the same as overseeing a soldier extraction in Peshawar. Adding more self-importance to an already too self-important stew does not help. Every gigantic corporation pines for a closed system in which criticism stays in-house. That wasn’t ever a possibility. Goodell putting such a dictatorial clause like that in writing feels more damaging PR-wise than owners continuing to gripe about the draft going on as planned. In some ways, I agree with Goodell. Complaining about potentially not drafting well isn’t entirely productive nor does it engender sympathy. There are actual, real-world reasons to critique the NFL’s blinder-heavy approach to the future. We should hear those.”

Goodell’s criticism clause in the memo probably won’t quiet the criticism …

The Associated Press contributed to this story.