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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Recent Issues Could Plague NFL's Attempts To Grow Female Fanbase Despite Prior Outreach

The anger recently voiced by women in the U.S. in light of high-profile domestic violence incidents "is particularly troubling for the NFL, which has invested heavily in trying to overcome its reputation as a domain for alpha males and find new consumers for its merchandise," according to a front-page piece by Ken Belson of the N.Y. TIMES. NFL Exec VP Mark Waller said that the league five years ago "set out to court women, 'listening to their needs much more aggressively and really trying to get under the skin of what needs they have and what can we do better.'" The "most visible manifestation of that effort appears annually in October, when the league covers much of the game in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month." Another example of the NFL’s outreach to women "was on display Tuesday night at a chic Manhattan event space, where the league held a fashion show to roll out its latest collections, complete with actresses and Victoria’s Secret models." Sports licensing tracker The Licensing Letter Founder Ira Mayer: "The league could have a real problem on their hands." Mayer said that, according to his calculations, the league last year generated about $30M in royalties "from the sale of women’s apparel." Mayer: "They already have a public relations problem and a sponsor problem, and that can translate to the licensing market, too" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/18).

HARANGUING THE NEW HIRES: YAHOO SPORTS' Danielle Elliot wrote NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "has created the latest controversy" with the league's selection of four white women to "shape a policy for a league in which more than two-thirds of players are African-American men." Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence Exec Dir Vanessa Timmons: "Every step for what doesn’t work, was in that one image. No diversity, no survivor, no men of color, no men." Timmons said that by selecting only women, the league "perpetuates the misconception that domestic violence is a women's issue" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/17).

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