Goodell Acknowledges Tough Year Off The Field, But Thinks NFL Responded Positively

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sat down for an interview with PBS’ Charlie Rose on Monday night, with the discussion touching on the issue of domestic violence and the steps the league has taken to prevent future incidents and enacting stiffer penalties. Goodell said, "It has been a tough year in many ways, but you know, with adversity comes opportunity, and I believe that both individually and as an organization, we responded in a very positive way. I think the changes that we’ve made to our personal conduct policy, to personnel that are around us who help us make better decisions and also, to get away from a complete reliance on law enforcement as it relates to domestic violence issues, sexual assault issues.” Goodell said the new personal conduct policy is set forth to "make sure that people understood exactly what the standards were." But he said it also is a "process, and we’ve seen that play out where our process now allows us to get better facts, better information, which will lead to a better decision.” Goodell said the league determined “you can’t rely simply on the criminal justice system, that you’re going to have to go out and get your own facts and you’re going to have to set your own standards” and in addition, “not be reliant on them and be reliant on ourselves." Meanwhile, Goodell said the recent concussion settlement was “something we thought was important to do because we want to make sure that the players who may need help, may need assistance or their families get that as soon as possible." He said, "Rather than litigating this for years and years, we have a fund that is available based on need.” Goodell noted there “is not a particular dollar amount on the fund right now." Goodell: "This fund is there for several years, for several decades, and for players to get it and families to get it if they have neurological disorders of some type" ("Charlie Rose," PBS, 4/27). 

CIRCLING THE WAGONS: In Buffalo, James Staas notes NFL attorney Steven Hurd was in a city courtroom yesterday asking a judge to "dismiss the league as a defendant" in a lawsuit by former Jills cheerleaders against the Bills and others over wages. The suit accuses the NFL of "aiding and abetting the Bills in the allegedly fraudulent scheme to misclassify the Jills as independent contractors and of unjustly enriching itself by its conduct." It seeks "payment for the Jills’ services." However, Hurd said that the NFL "was not the Jills' employer, a fact that the plaintiffs acknowledge, and was not responsible for the alleged misclassification of the Jills" (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/29).