Roger Goodell Announces NFL's Plans to Aid Domestic Abuse Prevention

Updates from Friday, Oct. 3

In a memo released Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell detailed the plans that are in place to help end domestic violence, including meeting with the National Domestic Violence Hotline, expanding their group of domestic violence experts to develop their programs, and meeting with several women's advocacy groups.

Original Text

In the face of backlash stemming from the NFL's previous handling of domestic violence issues, league commissioner Roger Goodell has announced plans to provide financial assistance to domestic abuse prevention organizations.

According to NFL Network's Albert Breer, Goodell revealed a pair of partnerships in a memo sent Thursday night:

At his press conference later in the day, Goodell noted his handling of the Ray Rice situation and how the league's personal conduct policy will be impacted by recent events (per Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times and Bob Glauber of Newsday):

ESPN's Adam Schefter released the full memo on his Facebook page. Within it, Goodell outlined the ways in which the NFL will help the previously mentioned organizations.

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It was brought to our attention that recent events caused The National Domestic Violence Hotline to receive 84 percent more calls during the week of September 8-15. According to the organization, more than 50 percent of those calls went unanswered due to lack of staff. That must not continue. ...

... The NFL and The Hotline have initiated an immediate process to make services available by adding expert advocates, training and other resources to respond to the increased volume of calls. The Hotline will add 25 full-time advocates over the next few weeks that will result in an additional 750 calls a day being answered.

The NFL's support also will enable Loveisrespect to service 24-hour-a-day text chats with young adults affected by dating abuse. ...

... The NFL's initial support will be directed toward state coalitions to provide additional resources to state and local sexual assault hotlines.

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In addition to that, Goodell announced that the NFL will institute educational programs for domestic violence prevention that all league personnel are required to take part in.

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We are also proceeding to implement broad educational programs within our league. Starting within the next 30 days, all league and team personnel -- including executives, coaches, players and staff -- will participate in education sessions on domestic violence and sexual assault. These initial sessions will begin to provide the men and women of the NFL with information and tools to understand and recognize domestic violence and sexual assault. We will work with the NFL Players Association to develop and present this training in the most effective way.

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All of this comes in the wake of several domestic abuse cases that have rocked the very foundation of the NFL. The most notable among them relates to former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice.

Rice was initially suspended for two games after assaulting his then-fiancee at an Atlantic City casino in February, but the suspension was later made indefinite when video of the assault was made public. Rice was also released by the Ravens.

Goodell has faced a great deal of criticism, but Tim Graham of The Buffalo News believes that he is in no danger of losing his job at this point:

With that said, Goodell's decision to partner with domestic abuse prevention programs could be a sign that he is feeling the heat. This coalition will certainly be beneficial to the league and the programs, but Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 theorizes that Goodell is trying to save face to some degree:

Even if Garafolo is accurate, many will be at least somewhat satisfied to see that the NFL is taking steps to right the wrongs that have been committed in the past regarding domestic violence.

Goodell himself admitted in the memo that the NFL is still in the opening stages of its fight against domestic abuse.

"These are by no means final steps," Goodell wrote. "We will continue to work with experts to expand and develop long-term programs that raise awareness, educate, and prevent domestic violence and sexual assault both within the NFL and in our society in general."

It is unfortunate that it took several despicable incidents before the NFL took notice of the mounting domestic violence problem plaguing the league.

Goodell and the NFL are finally moving in the right direction, though, and there is hope that the league can get past a very ugly chapter in its history.

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