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Leagues and Governing Bodies

NFL Again Refutes Report On Timing Of League's Knowledge Of Rice Tape

The NFL on Friday "sent a memo to every owner and team president ... denying a report that it had received" the Ray Rice elevator tape in April, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore SUN. The memo read, "Our office has found absolutely no evidence to support the claim of the anonymous ‘law enforcement source’ that he sent a video to the NFL office or that he received a telephone call to his ‘disposable cell phone’ from an unidentified female using an NFL line" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 9/26). Meanwhile, in Denver, Nicki Jhabvala noted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday met with NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith and several union reps to "discuss changes to the league’s personal conduct policy and its handling of domestic violence cases." In the first "in a 'series of periodic updates,' Goodell outlined recent steps the league has taken to address domestic violence and sexual assault in the league." Read the full memo, which was issued to all 32 teams (DENVERPOST.com, 9/27). Goodell said that the meetings with NFLPA execs, former NFLers and law-enforcement officials "would continue." He added that the league was providing $3M in promotional time "during broadcasts of games to publicize efforts to combat domestic violence and sexual assault" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/27). CBSSPORTS.com's Josh Katzowitz wrote perhaps the "most interesting" nugget in Goodell's memo "was the revelation that the league has met with the U.S. Army to discuss the military's approach to 'addressing issues of misconduct, including the provision of support services to families and victims'" (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/26). 

NEW HIRES, STRATEGIES: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sharon Terlep cited sources as saying that the NFL "has enlisted" DC-based public-strategy firm The Glover Park Group to "help manage fallout from the Rice situation." The group, "run by a squad of former White House and Democratic campaign officials, has been hired to help manage one of the most serious public relations crises in league history." An NFL spokesperson "declined to discuss the firm's involvement but said the league has worked with Glover Park on many issues over the years." Glover Park, founded by former aides to President Clinton including former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart, "has worked previously with the NFL." The league in '09 retained the firm to "fight a proposed congressional resolution that would have allowed satellite companies to broadcast copyrighted material without permission." It also "lobbied Congress to come out in support of HGH testing for players" (WSJ.com, 9/26). Meanwhile, AD AGE's E.J. Schultz wonders if the NFL "ordered up 'binders full of women' candidates" when recently hiring new female execs including CMO Dawn Hudson, as it "sought to keep its sizable female fan base from defecting." However, a source said that Hudson "was on the league's radar before" the Rice video's release in early September. Those who know Hudson say that she "is well-suited to the job, given her credentials as a focused, high-energy executive and consensus builder who is also a sports aficionado" (ADAGE.com, 9/29).

NOT GOOD(ELL) TO GO YET: THE MMQB's Peter King cites high-ranking NFL officials from eight teams, including owners, as saying that there is "currently no movement or momentum to remove Goodell as commissioner." But two of the owners indicated that they "want to wait for former FBI director Robert Mueller’s report into the NFL’s actions in the Rice case." If Goodell is "found to have lied about the Rice video or other pertinent facts in the Rice investigation, he’ll be in serious trouble." King did note that he has not spoken to anyone who believes Goodell "has lied." Meanwhile, if Goodell is also "found to have been culpable, or not on top of the investigation in a material way, he could be in trouble as well." More worrisome to Goodell "may be his long-term future." One owner "could see a scenario of Goodell surviving this fall, but if the brand is significantly damaged, and the public is as down on Goodell as recent public opinion indicates, he could be in trouble down the road." King: "This surprised me: The owners I spoke with want Goodell to cede authority in discipline cases. They think he spends too much time -- and it’s certainly true in this case -- going down a rabbit hole of unending controversy on an issue the league should have had buttoned up years ago. There’s also the sense, fair or unfair, that Goodell plays favorites" (MMQB.SI.com, 9/29). Meanwhile, Cowboys TE Jason Witten said he thought Goodell "did a good job of kind of standing up and owning it and saying, ‘We made a mistake’" regarding the Rice situation. Witten: "These have been dark days for the NFL, but this is a game we love, and I think there is a lot of integrity inside the NFL. Not only in the league office, but players and coaches across the country that understand and respect the opportunity they have. This league will be fine” (“Football Night In America,” NBC, 9/28).

CONTROVERSIES MOUNT FOR NFL
: In N.Y., Gary Myers wrote considering the "out-of-touch way the NFL has dealt with domestic violence in the past, I’m not sure any NFL commissioner would have handled the Rice case much differently" than Goodell did. But it is now "clear the NFL must get into the 21st century in dealing with domestic violence and Goodell has initiated that process." In addition to how the league "disciplines the offenders, there must be a culture change in the league." Myers: "Unless it’s proven Goodell lied, then I don’t see what changing the commissioner accomplishes as long as he changes the way the NFL handles all aspects of dealing with domestic violence." Even then, officials can "put in disciplinary deterrents and sit for hours to educate players, but unfortunately if they’re going to be idiots, they’re going to be idiots" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/28). Meanwhile, USOC CMO Lisa Baird, who was a Senior VP at the NFL from '05-07, took a "not-so-subtle jab at the troubled league" Friday. She said a brand is "not a shield you can hide behind" (AP, 9/26). Goodell's press conference was mocked during the season premiere of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend.

CONCUSSIONS STILL AN ISSUE: In Chicago, John Kass wrote under the header, "NFL, Goodell Sideline The Concussion Story." Nearly one-third of retired NFLers "can expect to suffer long-term cognitive problems, including dementia," and those conditions "will manifest themselves at 'much younger ages' than they do in the rest of the population." Kass: "Did you hear about that story, that a third of the NFL should expect brain damage? Did you see any accompanying stories showing players with headaches and the 1,000-yard stare, and a quick cut to little boys pulling on helmets on and rushing out to smash their bodies on Pop Warner fields? No, I didn't see any of that either." So for the NFL to "get through the domestic violence coverage, without confronting the bleak reality of their own brain injury numbers is pure genius" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/27).

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