NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave a public apology Friday afternoon during a press conference in New York to address the league’s handling of several domestic abuse cases, announcing he will soon meet with experts to come up with new policies to better manage personal conduct issues.
Goodell said he will establish a conduct committee to review the new rules and hopes to have the committee in place by the Super Bowl.
The commissioner, who has been under intense scrutiny for his light-handed suspension of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice after a surveillance video showed him dragging his unconscious fiancée out of an Atlantic City casino elevator, again took responsibility for the lenient treatment of Rice, but stopped short of saying he deserved to lose his job as a result.
Goodell said, however, that all options are on the table, suggesting that he may delegate some of his power to other officials in the league.
“We have always tried to do the right thing,” Goodell said. “I made a mistake in the handling of the Rice case, and I’m sorry. … The same mistakes will never be repeated.”
Goodell suspended Rice two games in July for hitting his then-fiancée in the elevator in February, but the outcry over the incident grew louder when another video of the incident released earlier this month showed him striking the woman, whom Rice has since married, and dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator.
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Rice was subsequently released by the Ravens and banned indefinitely from the NFL. But Goodell was lambasted by many for initially issuing such a mild punishment, with several lawmakers calling for his resignation.
Goodell said Rice’s version of the incident was different from what seen in the second video, accounting for the increased suspension.
A heckler briefly interrupted Goodell during Friday’s press conference, shouting “please don’t take me to the elevator!” — a reference to the Rice altercation — as he was forcibly removed from the room.
In the first three weeks of the football season, five different cases of domestic violence have made headlines, including Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson, who was indicted on felony child abuse charges.
Regarding Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, who was convicted of domestic abuse in July and put on paid leave Wednesday, Goodell said the league was “disappointed with where he is.”
Promising the league is “going to do better,” Goodell announced a partnership with two national organizations dedicated to assisting domestic violence and sexual assault victims. The NFL will provide financial, operational and promotional support to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
“Domestic violence and sexual assault have no place in the NFL,” he said.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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