NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "surveyed experts in the field" of domestic violence and sexual assault before building the league's new policy that includes a six-game suspension for first offenses and a possible lifetime ban with a second, according to Jane McManus of ESPNW. National Network to End Domestic Violence President & CEO Kim Gandy said of her hour-long conversation with Goodell, "He did a lot of listening and, I think, was genuinely trying to understand. I know he was talking to a lot of other people, maybe to see if we would all say the same thing." McManus noted the league on Aug. 21 "held a meeting at its Park Avenue offices" and "brought in Gandy and a handful of other experts and activists to help hone the policy it outlined." The meeting "was slated for two hours but went longer, and Goodell stayed until the last conversation wrapped up." People who work around the issue of domestic violence "were pleased" across the board with the "change in tone" Goodell exhibited (ESPNW.com, 9/4).
WHILE YOU'RE AT IT...: THE MMQB's Don Banks wrote now that Goodell has "acknowledged fumbling the league’s response" to Ravens RB Ray Rice’s domestic violence incident -- a two-game suspension -- the "obvious question is: Why stop there?" It was a "great first step when the NFL substantially stiffened its code of punishment for domestic violence, and Goodell has been almost universally applauded." But there is "more work to do," and there are several other "hot-button issues that could benefit from similar 'make-it-right' treatment." Goodell "largely got it right by suspending Colts owner Jim Irsay for six games and fining him the maximum $500,000 following his March arrest for driving while impaired." However, that "shouldn’t fool Goodell into thinking his heavy lifting is now done." Goodell should "bring some sense of modernization to the league’s collectively bargained but woefully outdated drug policy regarding marijuana use." He also should "provide leadership on the racially charged and bitter debate" surrounding the Redskins nickname and "abandon the quest for an 18-game regular-season schedule" (MMQB.SI.com, 9/4).
DODGING BULLETS? GRANTLAND's Bill Simmons wrote under the header, "The League That Never Sleeps," and noted Goodell somehow "escaped the spring and summer relatively unscathed, save for anyone still seething about his Earnest Byner–level fumbling" of Rice’s situation. But Goodell "seems to be reacting instead of acting," which is "not the most flattering trait for the leader of America’s biggest sport." Still, as long as he is "making money for the 32 NFL owners, they’re happy." The NFL under Goodell "keeps thriving financially despite the steady stream of big-picture mistakes, general callousness, conflicting policies and head-scratching insensitivity." Simmons: "I can’t remember a bigger disparity between 'how mainstream media members pretend the commissioner is doing' and 'how a commissioner is actually doing'" (GRANTLAND.com, 9/4).
NATIONAL OBSESSION: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes the NFL is "the country's favorite sport," but the "soap opera that surrounds it is a close second." She asks, "So how, exactly, did the NFL happen on a formula that makes it the envy of every other sport?" Emory Univ. marketing professor Manish Tripathi said that it "began with fantasy football." Now, "add social media." Fans thanks to Twitter and Instagram "got to see a more personal side of their favorite players ... and the connection deepened." As that was happening, the number of sports channels, publications and websites "was exploding." They "had to have something -- lots of things -- to fill their time and space when games weren't being played." Armour: "When you combine that with the reality TV obsession, whoosh!" (USA TODAY, 9/5). In Detroit, John Niyo wrote the NFL has "become such a behemoth that even its smallest details are a big deal, and no news is bad news, so long as it keeps everyone’s attention from Groundhog Day until Labor Day," at which point, the regular season begins. Niyo: "But right or wrong, this is our country’s favorite sport for the last 30 years and counting, easily pulling away from the pack." Of the 35 most-watched shows on television last fall, "all but one was an NFL game." Bigger "might not be better, but you better get used to it." Niyo: "We’ve already got three nights of NFL games now, so what’s the harm in one more?" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/4).
