Following months of controversy over its handling of Ray Rice and other cases involving domestic violence, the National Football League has drafted a new personal conduct policy. On Wednesday, the policy was unanimously endorsed by team owners.
The league said that the policy was developed after talks with current and former players, the NFL players association, business leaders, academics, law enforcement officials and domestic violence sexual assault experts.
“With considerable assistance from the many people and organizations we consulted, NFL ownership has endorsed an enhanced policy that is significantly more robust, thorough, and formal,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We now have a layered evaluation process to take into account a diversity of expert views. This will better enable us to make appropriate decisions and ensure accountability for everyone involved in the process.”
The league released a flow chart and memo to outline how the process will work, once a player or league employee is involved in any illegal activity. The new policy also includes a more extensive list of prohibited conduct and more funding for counseling and other services for those involved.
ESPN reports that the NFL said it will no longer rely on decisions from the criminal justice system since it “is governed by processes and considerations that are not appropriate to a workplace, especially a workplace as visible and influential as ours.”
There will also be more independent investigations and the policy “essentially removes the commissioner from the initial disciplinary proceedings.” The commissioner will still have a part in the appeals process, but there will be “a more rigorous and transparent process for those initial disciplinary decisions.”
The new policy sets a baseline suspension for six games without pay to a player involved in assault, battery, domestic violence and child abuse.
Among the many other changes is a new Conduct Committee, picked by Goodell, who will work with outside experts to make sure the policy evolves and is reviewed annually. The members of this committee are:
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill (committee chair)
Falcons owner Arthur Blank
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt
Dee Haslam (wife of Browns owner Jimmy Haslam)
Cowboys Executive Vice President and chair of The NFL Foundation Charlotte Jones Anderson
Bears owner George McCaskey
Texans owner Robert McNair
Warrick Dunn (former player and member of the Falcons ownership)
John Stallworth (former player and member of the Steelers ownership)
While the NFL said that the NFLPA helped shape the policy, the union denied that, sayign that they have not seen the policy yet.
image courtesy of Dara Kushner/INFphoto.com