NFL owners meet on personal conduct policy

Associated Press

NEW YORK

NFL owners will meet today to discuss the league’s personal conduct policy, vote on the sale of the Buffalo Bills and look at further international play.

These are critical meetings for the owners, with Commissioner Roger Goodell under fire for his handling of the Ray Rice case, and with several high-profile player arrests involving domestic abuse.

Although the owners have supported Goodell remaining in the job, they also have been embarrassed by loud criticism of the league’s recent missteps.

“We need to limit this,” Texans owner Robert McNair said of misbehavior by players, “so punishment is not an issue.”

The discussion of social responsibility and the personal conduct policy initiatives will overshadow approval of the purchase of the Bills by Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula. That transaction is considered certain, with three-quarters of the teams needing to vote in favor of the Pegulas.

Owners will be updated on the Los Angeles stadium situation, TV ratings. attendance and fan interest. They also will receive reports on the league’s games in London — three this year for the first time, with two still to come. The NFL has an eye on adding more London games, perhaps as soon as next season.

But the spotlight will be on steps the NFL is taking to educate everyone in the league on domestic violence and sexual assault and abuse. The owners will view a short video, and then will see about a 40-minute presentation by the league’s player engagement department about educating everyone in the NFL on the subjects.

Heading into the meetings, Goodell sent a memo to the owners in which he explained why the personal conduct policy needs revamping.

“For the past seven years, the personal conduct policy has brought credit to the league and to NFL players,” he wrote. “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.”

These are the first league meetings since Goodell admitted he was wrong in giving Rice a two-game suspension for punching his then-fiancee in an elevator. Following a torrent of criticism, Goodell announced stiffer penalties for future domestic violence cases.