NFL Dir of Transition & Clinical Services Dwight Hollier on Monday night met with reps from most of the league's 32 teams, who were in N.Y. for "two days of training about preventing and responding to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse," according to Jenny Vrentas of THE MMQB. Hollier shared the "blueprint for the presentations that will be given at each of the 32 teams’ headquarters beginning next week." Teams have been "encouraged to schedule three sessions, each an hour long: one for players, coaches and football operations; one for other staff members; and another for friends and families." NFL Chief HR Officer Robert Gulliver said that the goal is for the league-wide training "to be finished by the end of December." Vrentas reported Hollier's presentation, called “Enhancing Awareness: Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault,” marks the "first tangible steps being taken by the NFL following the Ray Rice, Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson imbroglios." It contains "about a dozen slides, focusing on clear and direct information that can be put into practice." It walks a "fine line: not alienating players and team employees who may feel unfairly lumped in with the handful of perpetrators, while also encouraging a change in the NFL’s culture." Hollier will "slightly tailor his presentation based on the audience." One slide that he "emphasized to team owners -- it showed the impact of domestic violence on society, listing cost figures such as $4.1 billion spent on direct medical and mental health services -- won’t be expounded upon to the players." Hollier is among a "handful of counselors, clinicians or advocates who will pair up with one of the NFL’s nine player ambassadors to lead sessions." As the NFL "continues to craft a new personal conduct policy, training will address prevention and support on the front end" (MMQB.SI.com, 10/21).
THE PLAN TO GET THINGS RIGHT: This morning's episode of NBC's "Today" featured an interview with NFL Senior Special Advisor to the Commissioner Lisa Friel, VP/Social Responsbility Anna Isaacson and Dir of Player Engagement & Education Deana Garner-Smith, three of the league's recent hires that NBC's Hoda Kotb notes was aimed to "overhaul the league's policies and education programs" with regards to domestic violence. Friel said, "We need to have an opportunity for people to have a second chance, to earn their way back into being on the field and playing." NBC's Peter Alexander asked Friel, "Was the league tone deaf?" Friel: "I think the league was listening to people and they didn't have all the right voices at the table." Alexander said the "new challenge" for Friel will be to determine "when the NFL should punish accused players. Should it be before they’ve had their day in court?" Friel: "It won't be upon an allegation, I can tell you that, and it won’t be merely upon an arrest. It will be somewhere farther down the process." Isaacson said, "When an incident comes up, they know exactly what to do: Make sure we're providing victims with the services they need." Alexander reports a new PSA produced by NoMore.org will dbeut during NFL games this weekend "featuring current and past NFL athletes ... to help punctuate a message many celebrities have already embraced" in previous spots. Actor Tate Donovan, who directed the PSA, said, "We'll succeed if one person watches a football player and asks questions of themselves, 'What can I do to end domestic violence?'" In the studio, Kotb said, "Such a deep seated culture. It's going to take a while to fix that." NBC's Matt Lauer: "No question. They made some changes. We'll see what happens" ("Today," NBC, 10/22).
