The National Football League is taking a tougher stance against domestic violence with a simple statement: “domestic violence and sexual assault are wrong. They are illegal. They have no place in the NFL and are unacceptable in any way, under any circumstances.”
This sets the right tone for a sport watched by millions of Americans and played by thousands of young men and boys. However, it is concerning that the league is already hedging in its adherence to this straightforward standard.
Just three days after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the new policy, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald was arrested for domestic violence.
In Seattle for the league’s season opening game on Thursday, Goodell told reporters the league was carefully watching the McDonald case but that the new policy would not be applied until the legal system had run its course.
If Goodell is serious about domestic violence being wrong and having no place in the NFL, he needs to stop the passive stance. Instead, he could follow the model used by police in Maine. When a law enforcement official is involved in a shooting, he or she is placed on leave while an investigation is undertaken. These review panels include a member of the public and, in the case of State Police, complete their work within 30 days.
A presumption of innocence is important, but waiting for a lengthy legal process to be complete can put victims at further risk and downplays the severity of domestic violence and sexual assaults. Further, in many domestic violence cases, victims are reluctant to press charges and testify in court, so the legal system may not reflect the seriousness of an event that happened months earlier.
Last week, Goodell acknowledged he and the league were wrong in their lenient approach to sexual abuse and unveiled a new policy that includes a six-game suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban from the league infraction.
The NFL commissioner had given Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice a mere two-game suspension after he was indicted in May on a charge of aggravated assault for knocking his now-wife unconscious. He was caught on surveillance footage dragging her body out of an elevator in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Another NFL player, Lavon Brazill of the Indianapolis Colts, received a one-year suspension for marijuana use.
Many, including Gov. Paul LePage, were outraged by the lenient treatment of Rice. “There is no excuse for this type of behavior in our society,” the governor wrote in a rightfully indignant letter to Goodell. “Until all of us make an effort to end this abuse, the cycle will continue. NFL players are supposed to be role models for young men, and many of them excel at that.
“However, if you allow some players to act violently toward women, then young men will think that kind of behavior is acceptable. It tarnishes all players and gives the league a bad name,” LePage wrote last month.
Goodell appeared to listen. In a letter to all NFL team owners last week, Goodell outlined a much tougher policy on sexual abuse and harassment. A six-game suspension would be meted out for a first offense and a lifetime ban would come with a second offense. The penalties would come after a player was convicted or reached a plea deal. The suspension could be longer if a weapon were used, the victim was pregnant or a child witnessed the abuse. It could be shorter if there were mitigating circumstances, which is troublesome as “self defense” is too often used as an excuse for violence.
“My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families,” Goodell said in his letter. “I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values.”
Those values are being tested as Goodell sits on the sidelines of the McDonald case.