Goodell: NFL has made 'tremendous progress' on domestic violence
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believes the NFL's recent decisions on matters of domestic violence indicate the league has made "tremendous progress" in the area.
New York Giants kicker Josh Brown was suspended one game for domestic violence despite the league's policy of issuing six-game bans for first offenses. Then, when it came to light that Brown admitted to ongoing abuse in a 2014 letter, the NFL placed him on the commissioner's exempt list, which is effectively an indefinite suspension. Then, facing tremendous pressure from fans and media, the Giants cut him.
The actions of the NFL were criticized as arbitrary and reactive by many, but to Goodell they were indicative of progress.
"What you see here is a policy that's evolved," Goodell said Wednesday to the Daily News' Gary Myers on WFAN. "We've learned a lot, but these are complex matters. When you talk to the domestic violence experts, these are difficult matters to deal with. You have rights, you have families that you have to be concerned with, privacy issues. Yes, you want to make sure you're doing everything possible to address these (alleged incidents) when they happen, but you also want to deal with them to prevent them from happening.
"I think we've made tremendous progress. Can we make more and will we make more? Of course."
Goodell attempted to explain why Brown's initial punishment was only a one-game suspension despite that seeming to contradict the NFL's policy.
"Here's the issue, the discipline that occurred on the one game was for the event on May of 2015," Goodell said. "That was the only one that we were able to get of all the different things that we've heard. The decision was made by our team after we had the evidence to be able to support the one game. We knew we would get challenged (by the NFL Players Association) and we were able to uphold it."
Goodell touted the NFL's revised Personal Conduct Policy, introduced in 2015, as helping to prevent player transgressions.
"In the first year, 2015, the number of arrests for NFL players went down 40 percent. This year, we're seeing another similar decrease. So what we're seeing is the policy is working," said Goodell. "Is it perfect? No. But we're dealing with very imperfect circumstances. Very complex circumstances. You strive to get it right in every opportunity."