NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in Manhattan on March 11, 2013.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in Manhattan on March 11, 2013. Credit: AP / Seth Wenig

NFL players will be subject to a six-week suspension for a first domestic violence offense and banishment from the league for a second under a new policy outlined by Commissioner Roger Goodell.

In a letter and memo sent to all 32 teams owners Thursday, and obtained by The Associated Press, Goodell says he "didn't get it right" in giving Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice a two-game suspension for allegedly hitting the woman who is now his wife.

He told teams to distribute to all players the memo in which he writes: "Domestic violence and sexual assault are wrong. They are illegal. They are never acceptable and have no place in the NFL under any circumstances."

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