NFL Considering Tougher Penalties For Domestic Violence Incidents

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (from Atlanta Falcons' Flickr feed)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (from Atlanta Falcons’ Flickr feed)

In the face of a firestorm of criticism of how it has handled incidents of domestic violence in the past, the NFL is giving serious thought to implementing stiffer penalties for players who commit such acts. Several league sources told The Washington Post that league officials are hammering out a new policy that would call for a suspension of four to six games without pay when a player is found to have been violent toward women, and a year-long ban for a second offense.


Apparently this move didn’t come without some prodding. Back in February, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice got in a fight with his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, at an Atlantic City hotel and knocked her unconscious.? In late July, league commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Rice for two games without pay and docked him an additional game check–a decision for which he has been deservedly reamed, especially since players have gotten longer suspensions for using performance-enhancing drugs. When he defended the suspension at last week’s Hall of Fame inductions, Goodell said that it was in line with past sanctions for similar incidents. However, a league source told The Post that he and his colleagues were “disturbed by what we saw” in the Rice incident, and that Goodell himself would like to see tougher penalties for such behavior.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, this is something that “the NFL would like to push through,” and that many people in league circles are very open to making changes. He thinks the league came under fire because there is no hard and fast policy on domestic violence, but doesn’t think it will take long to implement one. The NFL Players Association hasn’t been brought into the discussions just yet. However, it’s hard to believe that the players would stand in the way of such a policy, given the black eye that the league has taken from the Rice incident.


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Darrell Lucus.jpg Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.