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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Goodell Forming Committee, Collaborating With NFLPA To Revamp Personal Conduct Policy

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during his press conference Friday about the rash of domestic violence incidents throughout the league announced that he "would form a committee to lay the groundwork for overhauling the league’s personal conduct policy," according to Ken Belson of the N.Y. TIMES. Goodell indicated that the policy, which he "has wielded ad hoc and by fiat, failed because it was opaque and inconsistently applied." He said that he "hoped to unveil a new personal conduct policy by the Super Bowl in February," adding that he "would consult various experts on creating a transparent system to penalize players for their off-field behavior." He "offered little in the way of specifics but said he was open to anything, including working with" the NFLPA and "reviewing his role in determining violations." Goodell: "We will get our house in order first." Belson noted Goodell at times on Friday "was both apologetic and defensive." He said that he "had not considered resigning" after his handling of the Ray Rice case. Goodell: "I am focused on doing my job, and doing it to the best of my abilities. I understand when people are critical of your performance, but we have a lot of work to do. That’s my focus." He "deflected other questions about the ins and outs of his admitted fumbling of the Rice investigation and said more answers would be provided" by former FBI Dir Robert Mueller, who is investigating the league's handling of the incident. Goodell said that he "did not believe the league was close to losing a sponsor" in the wake of various off-field issues (N.Y. TIMES, 9/20). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Kevin Clark noted Goodell "didn't answer a number of key questions at his news conference at a midtown Manhattan hotel, including why media website TMZ -- but not the NFL -- was able to get hold of the now-infamous video of former NFL player Ray Rice hitting his now-wife, Janay Palmer" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/20).

DIVING INTO THE COMMITTEE
: Senior NFL Special Advisor to the Commissioner Lisa Friel said the personal conduct committee is "going to be an ongoing committee, a standing committee like the competition committee, that will be looking at the policies and process that we come up with in the next few months on a regular basis to make sure they don't fall behind and to make sure they always meet best practices." Friel said in the meantime, there will be a "group of us working on this to make" the rules "more consistent and more in line with the reality of sexual assault and domestic violence” (“Around the NFL,” NFL Network, 9/19). THE MMQB's Peter King wrote the "toughest part" of forming the new conduct policy "will be to establish rules for due process." The league "needs to take hold of the due-process part of the discipline story, because they can’t have a player for one team having different rules than a player for another team." Goodell "acknowledged several that times this is one of the biggest dilemmas facing the league." He said, "We need to change our policies and our procedures and we need to get some help in identifying how to do that" (MMQB.SI.com, 9/19). NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said when he talks to teams "about some of the recent situations -- Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy -- one complaint they've had is there's no road map." There is "no explicit set of rules for how to handle a player who's been charged, a player when evidence has come out against him, but he hasn't been convicted." Rapoport: "The hope is, going forward, the league will have some answer to [this], especially for the teams who simply don't know what to do” (“Around the NFL,” NFL Network, 9/19).

LOOKING FOR A DIVERSE GROUP: The MMQB's King reports it is likely both Goodell and NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith will "advocate putting a diverse group together." King: "I expect there to be former players with good leadership reputations, current players, an owner or two, and people from the business world who have had the responsibility of putting similarly complicated policies in place in corporate America and/or public service agencies such as police departments or the FBI" (MMQB.SI.com, 9/22). Meanwhile, Fox’ Jay Glazer, reported the NFL this week will "meet with law enforcement, with judges, and they're actually considering starting their own special task force investigative unit." Glazer: "Whether it's an outside firm or hiring somebody inside, so then they don't have to wait for law enforcement, they don’t have to wait for prosecutors and they don't have to wait for courtrooms” (“Fox NFL Sunday,” Fox, 9/21).

FORWARD PROGRESS
: ESPNW's Jane McManus said the "biggest thing" to come out of the press conference was that Goodell has "started to cede power and he will give power to this committee." McManus: "Clearly, his power has eroded and we started to see the beginning of that” (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 9/19). CBSSPORTS.com's Will Brinson wrote taking away some of the commissioner's power "is a major blow to the league office and to Goodell." But it is "a smart move by the NFL here." Having all the power "with one person who doesn't face checks and balances is a big problem" both for "people facing the discipline and, as we see now, potentially for Goodell himself" (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/19). Fox’ Mike Garafolo noted players and the NFLPA are "very encouraged" by that development, as it is "something they've been pushing for a while, since ‘Bountygate’ and beyond." Garafolo: "Not only to take the appeals process out of Goodell's hand when it comes to player discipline, but also the ability to judge and to impose suspensions in the first place" ("Fox NFL Kickoff," FS1, 9/21).

GOING DOWN THE CHECKLIST: In N.Y., Gary Myers listed "a few things the NFL needs to do" regarding players discipline going forward. First, the league "can no longer follow the lead of law enforcement to decide how to deal with its players." Goodell also "needs to hire a support staff strictly to deal with player discipline." He "should not remove himself from the process, but should no longer be sole judge and jury and appellate court judge." Additionally, Goodell needs to "work out a deal with the NFLPA that players on the exempt list get no more than 50 cents on the dollar." Meanwhile, every team "needs an on-site full-time psychologist or social worker to help players deal with their issues" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/21).

Smith (l) and Goodell are expected to meet in the near
future to discuss code of conduct changes
SET DIFFERENCES ASIDE: On Long Island, Bob Glauber wrote Goodell and Smith "need to set aside their differences and form the kind of bond" that former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue had with late NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw. Tagliabue and Upshaw "had their differences, but they also knew how to make a deal by finding common ground." Goodell now "must do the same with Smith, especially in the wake of Goodell's 'everything is on the table' pronouncement on Friday when he was asked how he plans to proceed with player discipline." Anything "short of a mutually agreeable plan to discipline players, especially when it comes to the heinous actions we have seen of late, is a failure that will continue to hurt the league" (NEWSDAY, 9/21). Fox' Troy Aikman said, "I've never seen a divide quite like there is right now. There's always been somewhat of an adversarial relationship between the league office and the players, and maybe to a little lesser extent the coaches. But I've never quite seen it like this" ("Fox NFL Kickoff," FS1, 9/21).

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU?
In N.Y., John Branch wrote the NFL "is buttressed by so many parties with a stake in its continued success -- broadcast partners, corporate sponsors, local governments, ancillary businesses, betting houses, fantasy leagues, hundreds of millions of fans -- that no amount of exasperation will topple it." The league "put itself in this position." But the "tougher spot may belong to all the rest of us, bound to the NFL with the nastiest of knots, looking for ways to be outraged in practical and meaningful ways." Branch: "Think CBS should just walk away? Think cities should kick a team out? Think fans should stop watching? Think any of that will happen?" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/21). In San Jose, Elliott Almond reported despite "full houses and record ratings, soul-searching football fans say the Sunday ritual no longer comes guilt-free." Many fans "are wrestling with conflicted feelings about their love of the game and their revulsion over the recent spate of domestic violence and child abuse cases." More than a dozen fans interviewed "shared internal struggles about enjoying the sport of pro football at a time when it has been marred by a series of ugly incidents off the field." Fans said that it is "wrong to taint all pro football players with the bad behavior of a few." However, those interviewed also added that they "are appalled at how poorly football officials have reacted -- doling out lenient and inconsistent punishment" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/21). In San Diego, Matt Calkins asked readers, "You want this league to change? Then stop watching games till it does." But fans cannot do that, because "once that ball leaves the tee, you can't leave your seat." Sunday morning "is the panacea for our misgivings about the NFL." We "can grumble all week about its corruption, danger, greed, or stupidity, but once it's game time, the league waves its Jedi hand and we fall in line" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/21).

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