Of late, the NFL has come under fire for its disciplinary policies, which have been noticeably light for players who have committed domestic violence against their significant others. Since 2002, the average suspension length for players with personal conduct issues — off-the-field issues — has been 3.0 games. Domestic violence infractions, considered personal conduct issues, have only received an average of 1.5 game suspensions.
It is clear that the NFL’s current disciplinary policy had to be changed, and the recent actions of NFL star Ray Rice gave them no choice. The former Baltimore Ravens running back was revealed to have attacked his wife in a casino elevator, knocking her unconscious before dragging her out. The public outcry was immense, and the NFL was immediately under pressure to punish Rice — at least, to punish Rice more forcefully than they had punished previous perpetrators of domestic violence.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodellhas made a step in the right direction, not only by suspending Rice indefinitely from the league but also by upping the penalty for domestic abuse. Now, a player who has committed some kind of domestic violence receives a six-game suspension without pay; a second offense results in an indefinite suspension, where the player must wait a year before he can make an appeal.
About two weeks ago, Goodell issued a letter to the league’s team owners, outlining the steps he and the league intended to take to rehabilitate the league’s image and become more active participants in stamping out domestic violence both within the NFL and nationwide. In these steps, he mentions how “the NFL can play an important role in communities across the nation” and that “domestic violence and sexual assault are broad social issues, affecting millions of people. [They] want [their] public role to be both constructive and effective.”
The NFL has many outreach programs to target a variety of issues, such as breast cancer awareness, veterans’ affairs issues and childhood obesity. People quite obviously pay attention to what NFL players say and do. It is baffling to me that Goodell mentions how NFL players can harness their celebrity status to promote good when they have already spent so much time doing so. There is no excuse for not understanding the effect your players’ actions can have on the lives of millions.
People look up to professional athletes. In this day and age, they are celebrities, the lives of whom many would kill to have. Very few of us pass through childhood without at some point wishing to be an athlete. Moreover, polls show that the NFL has been the most popular sports league for many years running; few professional athletes are more glorified in America than football stars.
This is by no means a revelation. However, if you were to follow Goodell’s history of disciplining players during his tenure as commissioner, you might get a different picture. It is clear that the actions of NFL players have a strong influence on their fans. Up until the past few weeks, Goodell has essentially said that his players can beat their wives and girlfriends, and escape with a slap on the wrist.
It’s still unclear whether league higher-ups saw the graphic footage of Rice beating his wife prior to Goodell’s decision. Nevertheless, the change in the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy appears to be more of an attempt to save face due to growing public outrage than it is an attempt to correct the wrongs of the past. Odds are that Goodell and other league officials did not suddenly have a revelation about the NFL’s role in the world, but rather made a business decision that could no longer be postponed.
Beyond the clearly abhorrent violence that has already taken place, what bothers me is a lack of sincerity on the part of the NFL. Certainly it is a business, but businesses do not operate in a vacuum. The lack of action taken against those who commit domestic violence is a silent condoning of the act itself. Looking at Goodell’s letter to the league owners, it seems that the NFL suddenly realized its own potential to shape the world around it. But rest assured, he and the other league officials understood the impact the NFL can have; it’s just that, when it came to domestic violence, they just did not care.
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