NFL owners to discuss personal conduct policy Wednesday

NFL owners will meet Wednesday in New York for the first time since a spate of domestic violence cases rocked the league and led to intense criticism of commissioner Roger Goodell's response to the issue. The owners will engage in a lengthy discussion about the NFL's personal conduct policy, and whether significant changes need to be made, including the possibility that an outside panel of experts determine whether a player should be placed on leave if he is charged with domestic violence or sexual assault.

Goodell sent a lengthy memo to owners Monday, which Newsday obtained, outlining a series of possible steps to be taken to update the personal conduct policy, which was implemented in 2007 but has come under fire in recent years, in part because Goodell was given broad powers. Goodell is now open to adjusting his role in deciding disciplinary measures for players who violate the personal conduct policy.

Goodell was widely criticized for his handling of the Ray Rice case and later admitted he erred in giving the former Ravens running back just a two-game suspension for hitting his then fiancee, Janay Palmer, in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino.

Other abuse cases have also impacted the league. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has been charged with injury to a child in the alleged disciplining of his 4-year-old son in May, Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was found guilty by a judge in July of assaulting his former girlfriend, and Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of assaulting his wife in July. Petersen and Hardy are on the NFL's "exempt commissioner's permission list," and Dwyer has been banned by the Cardinals from participating in any team activities for the remainder of the season. All three players continue to get paid. Ray McDonald, a defensive end for the 49ers, was arrested in August for assaulting his pregnant fiancee, but has not been charged and continues to play.

"For the past seven years, the personal conduct policy has brought credit to the league and to NFL players," Goodell wrote to the owners. "But during that time, we did not sufficiently review the policy to keep it current and ensure that it properly reflected our values and those of our society. Our process for handling allegations of misconduct was not as well-established as it needed to be. We relied almost exclusively on law enforcement and the courts to investigate offenses and determine guilt. We did not set and adhere consistently enough to our own standards, and we allowed our disciplinary responses to fall below where they needed to be. Nowhere was this clearer than in the context of domestic violence and sexual assault."

In his memo, Goodell posed a series of questions to owners for discussion at Wednesday's meetings, including the possibility of "a third party, or a panel of outsiders" deciding if a player should be banned from games with pay while his case is being adjudicated.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”