NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he was "direct and honest with team owners Wednesday about the mistakes that he and the league made in the Ray Rice case, adding that he did not receive negative feedback from the owners" during the meetings in N.Y., according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. Goodell: "I was very open with them about where we failed in the process. ... There frankly was a very open dialogue about that from my perspective. ... There wasn’t a lot of discussion following that." Maske notes Goodell has "pledged to overhaul the sport’s personal conduct policy." Goodell said that "most of the approximately five hours that he and the owners spent on the topic of player conduct Wednesday was related to that." Giants President & CEO John Mara: "I want to see it happen in the right manner and I think we're going about it the right way." Meanwhile, Goodell "continued to leave open the possibility of his power in disciplinary matters being reduced." Goodell: "Everything's on the table" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/9). ESPN.com's Dan Graziano noted Goodell estimated that five of the nine and a half hours of meetings yesterday "were focused on the league's personal conduct policy." NFL Senior Special Advisor to the Commissioner Lisa Friel and Goodell both said that the conversations "touched on a number of specific issues, including the appropriate time to impose punishment, what kinds of services the league can provide those affected during and after the punishment and what the commissioner's role should be in the disciplinary process" (ESPN.com, 10/8). In L.A., Sam Farmer notes there were "no major decisions made ... and the league's handling of future transgressions is a work in progress while the conduct policy is being revamped." There were "no concrete decisions or changes to the way the NFL conducts its business" (L.A. TIMES, 10/9). In Boston, Ben Volin notes Goodell "did not come up with any concrete solutions, particularly about what to do with players who are involved in legal matters." Goodell said that the NFL "has to be careful about respecting players' rights" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/9).
CHOOSE CAREFULLY: USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero notes the league's process of avoiding mistakes in handling legal matters is "proving to be complex, as the NFL navigates a minefield of questions about appropriate methods and standards for self-adjudication." Publicly, owners yesterday "chose their words carefully." But Goodell said that there was a "very open dialogue inside the room" (
USA TODAY, 10/9). In N.Y., Bart Hubbuch notes Goodell yesterday revealed that "giving up power over the conduct policy he created in 2006 had been discussed by owners for 'the last year'" (
N.Y. POST, 10/9). SI.com's Don Banks noted details of potential new facets of the policy "remain scarce." But this much "is clear: The NFL is still in the talking and gathering information stage of this new push, and even some of the league’s most garrulous owners -- like Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft, to name two -- declined interview requests and provided no insight into how the league is going to get to where it wants to be on the issues of domestic violence and social responsibility" (
SI.com, 10/8). Meanwhile, USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes under the header, "Goodell Makes Strides." Goodell "actually appears to be doing something." Brennan: "Say what you will about Goodell's NFL, but as of Sept. 8, it has understood it can never act that way again" (
USA TODAY, 10/9). ESPN's Steve Levy said, "The annual fall league meeting was like no
other the NFL has ever experienced. It included a 40-minute presentation
shown in an effort to educate everyone in the NFL about the dangers of
spousal abuse, child abuse, sexual assault and other domestic-violence
topics" (
"SportsCenter," ESPN, 10/8). FS1's Mike Garafolo said of league owners, "They spoke in generalities, which suggests they're
still a way's away from reaching a conclusion" (
"Fox Sports Live," ESPN, 10/8).
HIRED HELP: THE MMQB's Peter King looks at the hiring and role of Friel, who was "in the spotlight" yesterday. Friel: "I would never have agreed to sign up for this for PR purposes. I wouldn’t have agreed to come into this situation unless I was sure he (Goodell) was 100 percent committed to finding a solution. I am just as committed to getting it right.” Friel "emphasized that the law is messy, some cases are messy and emotionally charged, and there's no easy way out of the morass." King notes most team officials "encountered Friel for the first time" yesterday. Mara said, "I liked what I heard. She was tough and very thorough." Another top team official said that Friel "brought a prosecutor's mindset to the meeting Wednesday, not a league lawyer's approach" (MMQB.SI.com, 10/9). Meanwhile, YAHOO SPORTS' Eric Adelson looked at the role of NFL Exec VP/Football Operations Troy Vincent, who is a "close adviser" to Goodell, and Vincent's "private world and his public profession have merged amid the league's crisis." Goodell has "brought in several domestic violence experts in the last several weeks, but Vincent, a former player, has a unique awareness that has shadowed him as long as he can remember." Vincent: "This has been a lifelong fight for me. This issue can't get any closer. I've experienced it firsthand, as a survivor" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/8).
MEDIA MONITOR: Last night's edition of CBS' "Evening News" noted NFL owners were given the video presentation on domestic abuse prior to a report on a program to help men who have committed domestic abuse. ABC's "World News" aired a report on Vikings RB Adrian Peterson's child-abuse case and the NFL owners' meeting. NBC's "Nightly News" did not air an NFL-related reports. ABC's "GMA" and NBC's "Today" in the first 12 minutes of their broadcasts both aired reports on NFL owners' meeting and Peterson appearing in court for his cases. CBS' "CBS This Morning" aired a news brief about 32 minutes into their broadcast on the owners' meeting (THE DAILY). ABC's Robin Roberts noted the "embattled" Goodell met with "all the owners." ABC's Ryan Smith said the "dark cloud of domestic abuse [is] looming large over the NFL" but Goodell is "vowing to develop an effective player-conduct policy" ("GMA," ABC, 10/9). NBC's Craig Melvin noted Goodell "hopes to have that new personal-conduct policy in place by the Super Bowl." NBC's Willie Geist: "Let's hope all these meetings lead to some real change in the league. They need it" ("Today," NBC, 10/9).
