Sixteen female senators, including Maine’s Susan Collins, on Thursday sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell requesting that the NFL adopt a zero-tolerance policy against domestic violence.
The letter is a response to Goodell and the NFL suspending former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice indefinitely because of a domestic violence incident. The Ravens terminated Rice’s $35 million contract on Monday.
Rice also faces felony aggravated assault charges.
Goodell recently invoked a domestic violence policy that will result in a six-game suspension for first-time offenders and a lifetime ban with the possibility of reinstatement after a year for second offenses.
“We were shocked and disgusted by the images we saw this week of one of your players violently assaulting his now-wife and knocking her unconscious, and at new reports that the NFL may have received this video months ago. Tragically, this is not the only case of an NFL player allegedly assaulting a woman even within the last year,” the letter stated.
“”We are deeply concerned that the NFL’s new policy, announced last month, would allow a player to commit a violent act and return after a short suspension. If you violently assault a woman, you shouldn’t get a second chance to play football in the NFL.”
The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, Barbara Boxer, D-California, Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, Patty Murray, D-Washington, Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, Collins (R-Maine), Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, Dianne Feinstein, D-California, Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, Kay Hagan, D-North Carolina, and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.
The senators want Goodell to “institute a real zero-tolerance policy and send a strong message that the league will not tolerate violence against women by its players, who are role models for children across America.”
The NFL denied it had received the Rice video and on Wednesday retained former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to lead an independent investigation into the league’s controversial handling of the case.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney and New York Giants owner John Mara will oversee the investigation.
Rooney and Mara released a joint statement on Thursday, saying their only objective is to get the truth and share with the public.
“We have spoken with Mr. Mueller, and he has informed us he is prepared to begin immediately. No timeline was established and we stressed that he should take as much time as necessary to complete a thorough investigation.
“We agreed that the scope of the investigation should be aimed at getting answers to specific questions, including what efforts were made by league staff to obtain the video of what took place inside the elevator and to determine whether, in fact, the video was ever delivered to someone at the league office, and if so, what happened to the video after it was delivered.”
Goodell, who is facing heavy criticism and calls to step down, pledges full cooperation with Mueller, including access to all NFL records. The final report will be made public.
The handoff to Mueller comes on the heels of an Associated Press report Wednesday that claims the NFL did indeed receive a copy of the video showing Rice striking his fiancée, Janay Palmer, in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino in February.
Goodell had been steadfast in his assertion that league investigators had seen only the first video showing Rice drag an unconscious Palmer out of the elevator.