NBA Commissioner Adam Silver yesterday said the league will "take a fresh look" at its domestic violence procedures in the wake of the NFL's recent incidents, according to Brian Mahoney of the AP. Silver said that the league has been discussing with the NBPA "ways to further educate players and provide programs to them and their families." He said, "We learn from other leagues' experiences. We're studying everything that's been happening in the NFL. We're working with our players' association." Mahoney noted the league's CBA "calls for a minimum 10-game suspension for a first offense of a player convicted of a violent felony." Silver: "We have in place the appropriate mechanisms for discipline, although we'll take a fresh look at those as well. But most importantly, it's education, and it's not just the players, but it's the players' families. That's what we're learning, too" (AP, 9/22). ESPN.com's Ian Begley noted the NFL's off-field issues have "spurred the league to look specifically at ways to better educate its employees about domestic violence." NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts said, "It's one thing to know how to react when it happens, but it's a lot smarter to make sure it doesn't happen in the first instance. So one of the things Adam and I have agreed to talk about are some prophylactic measures we can put into place (to) make sure everyone is adequately trained and understands" (ESPN.com, 9/22). Roberts yesterday in her first day in her role with the players' union said that the NFL "badly mishandled" the Ray Rice domestic abuse situation. Roberts: "All I can say is that was one of the worst managed crisis I’ve ever seen" (N.Y. POST, 9/23).
FULL-COURT PRESS: NBA.com's David Aldridge wrote the NBA "has had more than its share of domestic violence incidents involving players over the years; it is merely fortunate that the issue reached critical mass on the NFL's watch." Only a "handful of players over the years have received any discipline from the league for domestic violence." The "longest suspension the NBA has levied in the last two decades for domestic violence was the seven games" that former NBAer Metta World Peace received in '07 after "pleading no contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge." However, the league "has strengthened its domestic violence penalties since then." Any player convicted of or who pleads guilty or no contest to a crime involving violent conduct "must attend a minimum five counseling sessions with a therapist or counselor jointly selected by the NBA and the union." The counseling sessions "are in addition to any penalties imposed by the league for the violent conduct." Aldridge: "But the league needs to do more to avoid being the next league to fall short in the public's eyes." First, the league "needs to survey its players, confidentially and without penalty, to determine the incidents of child and domestic abuse in the personal histories of its players," including whether the players "were themselves abused as children." Second, the league must "adapt proactive programs." In addition, the NBA needs to "re-educate players on their vulnerability, the law and their responsibility" (NBA.com, 9/22).
GOOD OLD HOCKEY GAME: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday said that he "believes the NHL has been proactive about athletes' off-ice conduct." In N.Y., Pat Leonard notes Bettman "did not address" the NFL's issues specifically during a luncheon for the Canadian Club of Toronto. But Bettman said that the NHL "educates its players on important issues" and added that sports "can be a 'vehicle for positive social change'" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/23). Bettman said that the league's security department and behavioral health counselors "have talked to players about the topic of domestic violence for more than a decade." Bettman: "Based on our experience to date, we believe that the appropriate procedures are in effect that we can do what we need to do on a case-by-case basis. I am extraordinarily proud of our players and how they conduct themselves. If and when something needs to be addressed in terms of discipline, it will be. But more importantly, we try to focus, with the Players' Association, on educating and counselling." The AP's Stephen Whyno noted the league's CBA "includes procedures on how to handle off-ice incidents and gives the NHL power to suspend a player amid a criminal investigation if failing to do so would 'create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the league.'" After the NFL instituted a new policy that made a first domestic-violence offence a six-game suspension, Bettman said that the NHL "would continue to handle incidents on a case-by-case basis because it has not been an issue that requires setting a standard punishment" (AP, 9/22).
