The NFL "is going on offense this fall with Washington policymakers" beginning with a series of "closed-door meetings with key House and Senate committees this week," according to Darren Samuelsohn of POLITICO. NFL Senior VP/Public Policy & Government Affairs Cynthia Hogan said that the league "would be briefing" the House Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate Commerce Committee, both of which have jurisdiction over sports-related commercial issues, "on player safety and pro football’s new efforts to pay for research into head injuries." Hogan "is attempting to get out ahead of an expected crush of political demands for everything from changes in practice schedules to equipment upgrades to altering the structure of the game itself." The NFL, which has the "only full-time lobbying operation run by a major sports league" in DC, in recent years has "come under fire from lawmakers who have criticized the sport’s violence, Commissioner Roger Goodell’s handling of player discipline, and the offensive implications" of the Redskins’ nickname. One thing the NFL "wants to protect in Washington: Its antitrust exemption, granted by Congress to football and the other major pro sports leagues allowing their teams to work and negotiate in concert, something most other industries can't do." Although that longstanding waiver "is not considered to be in jeopardy, its existence gives Washington lawmakers a toehold in trying to hold the NFL accountable on big issues like player safety and domestic violence." The league "is also bracing for more scrutiny over all of the violent hits that players take on the field" because movie-goers "will get a full dose of this issue" with Columbia Pictures' upcoming release of "Concussion." Hogan: "The movie 'Concussion,' I think, is a snapshot of a specific period in the past. I think what we are hopeful is that this is an opportunity for us to get out to people information on where we are now" (POLITICO.com, 9/8).
RAY OF LIGHT? SI.com's Don Banks wrote one year after the Ray Rice domestic-violence scandal, "only selective change is truly visible" in the NFL. An NFL spokesperson said that the league "is starting its second year of mandatory domestic violence/sexual assault education and awareness classes for every member of all 32 organizations and the league office, and in conjunction with Domestic Violence Awareness Month will publish a new series of anti-domestic violence public service announcements from players in October this year, following up on last year’s 'NO MORE' PSA campaign." In addition, the league "has maintained its ties to the advisors Rita Smith, Jane Randel, Beth Richie and Tony Porter, who were brought on board last season to give advice on matters dealing with domestic violence and sexual assault." Another former advisor, Lisa Friel, "was hired full-time by the NFL this spring" as Special Counsel for Investigations (SI.com, 9/8).
