By: Jack Meyer
In the wake of the Ray Rice incident and subsequent domestic violence arrests involving several other NFL players during the 2014 season, the NFL encountered a public relations firestorm. The NFL faced widespread public criticism that domestic violence among NFL players had become an “epidemic” and that the male dominated league was indifferent to the issue.[1] Commissioner Roger Goodell nearly lost his job after his perceived mishandling of the Rice incident, and public pressure forced the NFL take significant action to address domestic violence offenses among its players.[2]
This pressure led the NFL to hastily implement a player conduct policy specifically aimed at addressing crimes against women, such as domestic violence and sexual assault. The NFL admittedly used this new policy as a public relations maneuver, knowing full well that the policy did little to actually prevent domestic violence and was only aimed at publicly … Read the rest