Sen. Dianne Feinstein warned Sunday that members of the Senate may intervene in the NFL domestic violence scandal, saying the situation has gone on too long.
“I think I can speak for all the women in the Senate by saying we’re surprised, amazed and very resolute to do something about it,” the California Democrat said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”
She decried what she described as the “dramatic growth in violence” and called on the NFL to toughen its policies on player misconduct.
“I think there is no place for this, period,” Mrs. Feinstein said. “I believe very strongly if a player is arrested, they should be suspended, and if they are convicted, that ends it. I know there are contracts, but this has gone on too long.”
She said the NFL players need to “project the values of what’s right and what’s wrong.”
“To let players continue to play after they’ve been convicted of what would be a felony, I think is a huge mistake,” Mrs. Feinstein said.
The NFL’s image has taken a hard hit this year with reports of a half-dozen players involved in domestic violence and assault cases.
In the most notorious case, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after a video showed him punching his fiancee in a casino elevator and knocking her unconscious. Rice’s attorneys struck a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to enter a pretrial intervention program that involved anger management counseling and probation.
Rice was suspended for two games at first but has since been suspended indefinitely by the league and cut by the Ravens. The NFL Players Association, the players union, has filed an appeal on Rice’s behalf.
This isn’t the first time this month that Congress has targeted the NFL. Three Democratic senators introduced a bill last week that would strip the league of its tax-exempt status if it continues to “promote the current name of its Washington, D.C., franchise,” the Washington Redskins, which has come under attack as a racist slur.
“As the past few weeks have illustrated, the problems within the NFL are far and wide,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said in a statement accompanying the bill.
Asked Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he would support the Redskins bill, Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, said he hadn’t thought about it.
“We have far higher priorities,” Mr. Johnson said. “We are mortgaging our children’s future, we are facing the threat of Islamic terrorists.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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