The National Football League’s new punishment for sexual assault and domestic violence, which hands out a lifetime ban for a second offense, represents a change in culture that activists said badly needed amending.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the changes today in a letter addressed to league owners. In it, Goodell said the league has allowed its standards to “fall below” an acceptable level, and that he erred on ruling in a recent case of domestic violence within the NFL.
“This is a huge day for women and football,” Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of women’s rights advocacy group UltraViolet, said today in a statement. “Finally, the NFL is taking steps to change its policies and show that domestic violence is a crime that will be taken seriously in professional football -- a message that will be heard across professional sports.”
UltraViolet this month drafted a petition with more than 47,600 signatures, asking Goodell for harsher penalties regarding domestic violence. That letter, which the group said was accompanied by 2,000 calls to the NFL’s New York headquarters, came after the league suspended Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens two games following a physical altercation with his then-fiancee.
Rice knocked her unconscious, according to Sports Illustrated, and video footage showed the All-Pro running back dragging her out of an elevator at a New Jersey casino. Rice later said his actions were “inexcusable.”
Criticism of the NFL’s policies renewed this week after Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon’s season-long ban for what ESPN said was a positive marijuana test was upheld by an arbitrator.
Punishment Wrong
While Goodell didn’t name Rice in the letter, he mentioned a “recent incident of domestic violence” in which discipline was handed down. He said he “didn’t get it right” when issuing that punishment.
“Domestic violence and sexual assault are wrong,” Goodell said in the letter. “They are illegal. They have no place in the NFL and are unacceptable in any way, under any circumstances.”
This marks a “step in the right direction,” according to Ruth Glenn, interim director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Glenn, who called the NFL’s previous approach “insufficient,” said the league’s high profile will enhance the impact of today’s decision.
“These players have an impact on society-at-large and setting an example in regards to the tolerance of violence off the field, and particularly as it relates to women and children, is very important,” Glenn said in a telephone interview.
Physical Assault
An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year, according to the coalition. The organization said one in four women will experience domestic violence.
Under the new policy, NFL personnel who violate the league’s personal conduct policy regarding battery, domestic violence or sexual assault will be subject to a six-game suspension without pay for an first offense. The punishment for a second offense will be banishment from the league.
The six-game suspensions may be longer if the circumstances warrant, Goodell said, citing potential violence involving a weapon. Anyone who receives the lifetime ban will be allowed to petition for reinstatement after a year, Goodell said.
The NFL players’ union said in a statement that it found out about the NFL’s decision today.
“As we do in all disciplinary matters, if we believe that players’ due process rights are infringed upon during the course of discipline, we will assert and defend our members’’rights,” the union said in a statement.
NFL Discipline
The new discipline, which applies to all NFL personnel, will be accompanied by more thorough educational initiatives regarding domestic violence and sexual assault, according to Goodell’s letter. The commissioner also said that the league is “working to strengthen” its discipline for impaired driving.
Glenn said the NCADV will continue to monitor the NFL’s dedication to the tenets outlined in the commissioner’s letter.
“We will remain vigilant, as Mr. Goodell has promised to do,” she said. “And ensure that the education is as it should be for players and personnel, and ensure that the NFL is living up its promise to address this as seriously as they have stated today.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net Dex McLuskey
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