CSR and the NFL Final Draft

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Brian Rowe
Tackling CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility and
The National Football League
Abstract: The sports industry is one of the most powerful, influential, and richest industries in
the world today and the National Football League (NFL) are one of the leading organizations
within the industry. However with billions of eyes on them year-round the NFL has come under
scrutiny in the past few years due to their handling of domestic violence issues, lack of
concussion prevention attempts, and their players off the field conduct. Certain events have led
to the NFL having a very poor public image recently. Accordingly the NFL owes it to its fans,
as well as its employees, to attempt to redeem themselves from prior poor decisions. It could be
said that the NFL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is forced to form an entirely
new plan of attack in an attempt to prove to the public that it cares about more than television
ratings and dollar signs.
What is Corporate Social Responsibility?
It is important to first have a general understanding of what CSR is, and more particularly
how it is going to be applied within the NFL. Garriga and Mele classified CSR into four groups;
‘instrumental’- meaning the corporation will do whatever it has to in order to maximize profits-;
‘political’- which is the extent to which a corporation is going to use its power to influence the
political arena-; ‘integrative’- where a corporation focuses on society’s demands-; and finally
‘ethical’ issues where a corporation will focus on ethical responsibilities towards society as a

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whole.1 This four-prong CSR definition fits the problems that the NFL is facing because their
attitude is beginning to change. While they may have once been more focused on using CSR for
instrumental means, growing as fast as possible while making as much money as possible,
certain events have forced the NFL to start to look at CSR as more of an ethical, or integrative
tool. The NFL is trying to use CSR as a tool to fix their broken image, and reach out to society’s
demands. I have come to believe that CSR is finding the right mixture of doing what is right,
while also fulfilling ones duties to shareholders. Finding this right balance is not an easy task,
but tipping the scales too far in one direction could lead to a corporation running around putting
out fires that could have been prevented in the first place, as the NFL is currently realizing.
The Business Side of the NFL
When people think of the NFL they think of Sundays, hard hits, and the game of football.
However the NFL is much more than that. While it provides the fans with entertainment week in
and week out, at the end of the day it is still a business that is trying to make money. And for the
NFL, business is good. In 2015 the NFLs’ reputation faced one of the most difficult years it
could ever imagine, however business was not affected. Attendance was up 2%; average ticket
prices rose 3.5%; and with television ratings up as well, the NFL was able to top its’ prior record
breaking revenue of $10 billion and profits of $1 billion in 2014.2 With the NFL facing such
criticism you would think that sponsors may decide they no longer want t be tied to the league,
however sponsorship dollars also rose between 4% and 5% from the $1.07 billion the year
before.3 However sponsors have not been entirely quiet as they know part of their image is in the
1 ELISABET GARRIGA & DOME`NEC MELE,CORPORATE SOCIALRESPONSIBILITYTHEORIES:MAPPINGTHE
TERRITORY (KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS2004).
2 CHRIS ISIDORE, NFL EARNS RECORD PROFITSDESPITE UGLY IMAGE (CNN MONEY 2015),
HTTP://MONEY.CNN.COM/2015/01/20/NEWS/COMPANIES/NFL-PROFITS/.
3 Id.

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hands of the NFL since their logos, and name is plastered all over stadiums and commercials
every weekend. Anheuser-Busch is one of the biggest NFL sponsors, and Bud Light is the
‘official beer’ of the NFL.4 With so much at stake with regards to the partnership at the NFL,
Anheuser-Busch felt like it was time to come out and address their partnership with the NFL.
Even though they feel like they are in no position to tell another business how they should
operate, spokesman for Anheuser-Busch did say "We are not yet satisfied with the league's
handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code."5
However with all that being said the approximately six year deal worth $1.2 billion between the
NFL and Anheuser-Busch does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, nor does the $185
million that Bud Light spent on advertising alone last year.6 The biggest reason being even if
Anheuser-Busch did decide to walk away the line for their replacement would be out the door at
the NFL corporate offices. "Any sponsor can be replaced. There's competition in all their key
categories," said Kent Atherton, a former vice president of sports at DirecTV, who now runs a
media and marketing company. "The NFL does exert leverage. They don't like to talk about it
but they carry a big stick. You want to play nice, you want to make sure you have a good
relationship with them when it comes time to renewals."7 Sponsorship dollars are not going
anywhere until the money stops coming in, or multiple sponsors get together and agree all ties
will be cut until any situation is fixed, and policies they believe in are put into place. In other
words it seems that the NFL can do no wrong, and no matter what the public’s perception of the
league is, they will continue to bring in billions of dollars year after year. So why change
4 KEVIN CLARK, MIKE ESTERL & SUZANNE VRANICA,Budweiser, a Big Sponsor,Criticizes NFL, 2014THE WALL
STREET JOUNAL,SEPT.16, 2014 AT (2014), HTTP://WWW.WSJ.COM/ARTICLES/BUDWEISER-MAKER-CRITICIZES-NFL-
1410897846.
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.

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anything at all? While business is still growing year after year maybe the NFL is seeing the
writing on the wall, and realizes that if it doesn’t act now it could lose on major profits in the
near future.
The NFL has been a profit-seeking organization ever since Roger Goodell took over as
commissioner in 2006. The year prior to his takeover the NFL saw revenue of $6.16 billion, and
Goodell stated at an owners meeting in 2008 that the league has a goal of bring in revenue of $25
billion by 2027.8 Sponsors are a great way to start attempting to achieve that goal, however with
such a serious growth target to be accomplished in the next 10 years that alone won’t do it. We
are starting to enter a world where people would rather sit at home with their friends and watch
the game on TV. High definition allows you to view the game like never before, and channels
such as RedZone, owned by the NFL, allow the viewer to see non-stop action for over 8 hours.
(Commercial free! It’s amazing). This is why the majority of NFL profits are going to come from
TV deals. IN 2011 the NFL signed TV deals with CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN worth a total of
$42 billion and those contracts are set to expire in 2022, 5 years before the ambitious goal date.9
This means that come 2022, or even prior to, the NFL is going to have to work out new deals
with these television networks, which could end up getting them much closer to that $25 billion
dream. The past few years have also shown speculation of the NFL expanding. It is vvery likely
that a team will be moved to Los Angeles in the next few years, an area of the country that could
bring in high profits for the league if fans there get their own franchise. Another less likely
8 ALYSSA OURSLER, THE NFL’S BOOMING MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS (INVESTOR PLACE 2012),
HTTP://INVESTORPLACE.COM/2012/09/THE-NFL-BOOMING-BILLION-DOLLAR-BUSINESS/#.VIV-JYVF9P0.
9 MONTE BURKE ,How the National Football League Can Reach $25 Billion in Annual Revenues, 2013FORBES,
SPORTMONEY,AUG.17, 2013 AT (2013), HTTP://WWW.FORBES.COM/SITES/MONTEBURKE/2013/08/17/HOW-THE-
NATIONAL-FOOTBALL-LEAGUE-CAN-REACH-25-BILLION-IN-ANNUAL-REVENUES/.

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speculation has been the move overseas. Every year the NFL hosts multiple games in London as
a way to pay tribute to the fans all over the world. But could the NFL actually move a team
across the globe? The short answer is most likely not, but when you think of the profits that
would roll in if one, or even two, teams started playing their homes in London I wouldn’t put it
past the NFL to give it a shot. These profit oriented goals show that one of the NFL’s main focus
is to make as much money as possible without thinking of who or what it is going to affect. The
NFL seems to think it is invincible, and can get away with anything it wants and the money will
keep pouring in, but who is going to get hurt on its way to the $25 billion goal? The day may
come where sponsors have finally had enough and refuse to pay the extreme prices the NFL
believe it is entitled too. Same can be said for the fans, which one day may be willing to stop
going to games due to such high ticket prices, or refuse to pay such high prices for memorabilia.
Everything the NFL has worked for could very easily blow up in its face, or it could see profits
that are similar to McDonalds and Nike. This is why from the mid-2000s until now it seems the
NFL thought of CSR as an instrumental tool, because all their time and planning went in to
putting a product on the field that was going to bring in as much money as possible. If the NFL
had stopped in order to think about player safety, or societal issues, and how these problems may
infiltrate their “unstoppable” growth as an organization, they may not have to be in the middle of
a CSR catastrophe.
Domestic Violence hits the NFL
Ray Rice
What can arguably be considered the biggest event to affect CSR and the NFL is the Ray
Rice incident. In February of 2014 Rice was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend in an elevator

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at an Atlantic City hotel. A few days after the incident a video was released by TMZ Sports that
showed Rice dragging his unconscious girlfriend out of the elevator. How she came to this state
was still unknown to the general public. Over the next few months Rice was backed by his team,
the Baltimore Ravens, by both the coach and ownership stating that Rice would still be a part of
this team, and would be ready for the upcoming season. At the same time Rice was indicted for
aggravated assault by a grand jury, which eventually made agree to pretrial intervention and
allowed him to partake in a program of counseling and anger management in exchange for the
opportunity to clear the charges against him in as fast as six months.10 However while the justice
system was doing its part to deal with Rice, his future with the NFL was still up in the air.
Surely the NFL would not condone such behavior, and would take drastic measures to show that
domestic violence would have no place in the league. Mid-July, roughly six months after Rice
attacked his girlfriend, who became his wife mid-way through the summer; Goodell finally
handed down his suspension: two games. For a crime that could have sent Rice to prison for up
to five years, the league thought two games was sufficient disciplinary action. To make matters
worse his suspension was for “conduct detrimental to the league” not even for what it was,
domestic violence. This was Goodell and the NFLs first mistake. Before we get into his other
mistakes let’s put this suspension into perspective. In 2014 Goodell suspended multiple players
for 4 games due to failing a drug test for marijuana, and one players’ 3rd failed drug test got him
a 1 year suspension.11 A failed drug test for a drug that is legal by multiple states laws will get
you double the suspension from the NFL as beating your wife does. Is that the message that the
10 LOUIS BIEN,A COMPLETE TIMELINEOF THERAY RICE ASSAULT CASE (SB NATION 2014),
HTTP://WWW.SBNATION.COM/NFL/2014/5/23/5744964/RAY-RICE-ARREST-ASSAULT-STATEMENT-APOLOGY-RAVENS.
11 NFL SUSPENSIONS TAKINGA HEAVY TOLL ON 2014 ALREADY (SB NATION 2014),
HTTP://WWW.SBNATION.COM/NFL/2014/7/3/5867515/NFL-SUSPENSIONS-2014-ROBERT-MATHIS-DARYL-WASHINGTON-
LANE-JOHNSON.

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NFL wants to send to its audience? This policy is basically telling kids at home ‘go ahead and
hit your girlfriend, but don’t smoke pot!’ These policy issues will be examined closer later on.
Back to Goodell and the NFL’s next mistake. Days after the suspension was handed down a new
video was released which showed Rice punching is girlfriend in the face, knocking her out cold.
To make matters worse it was reported that the NFL had seen this video in its entirety, yet still
decided that a two game suspension was enough.12 After the video was released for the world to
see the NFL and Goodell had to come forward and say that they “didn’t get it right” and a new
domestic violence policy was going to be put into place. Rice was then released by the
Baltimore Ravens, and suspended indefinitely by the NFL.13 However the damage was already
done, the NFL had lost the trust and respect of many, and people were demanding to know how
they planned on fixing this public relations nightmare.
Policy Changes in the NFL Offices
The NFL now has to start to transform from an instrumental minded organization, to an
integrative minded one while focusing on ethical issues at the same time. The NFLs first attempt
to begin to clean up the mess they had made was immediately changing the domestic violence
policy. Days after the league realized they had messed up the Rice case an e-mail was sent out to
all teams regarding their updated policy with regards to domestic violence. Under the new
policy any personnel, not just players, within the NFL will be subject to a minimum 6 game
suspension due to any sort of physical violence including domestic and sexual assault. Any
12 LOUIS BIEN, A COMPLETETIMELINE OF THE RAY RICE ASSAULT CASE (SB NATION 2014),
13 Id.

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second time offenders of this policy will be banned from the NFL for life.14 While this was a
good first step in the right direction, the National Organization for Women (NOW) still feels that
policy is not strong enough. Terry O’Neill, President of NOW, stated “The victim is an
afterthought in this 'new' policy -- as she was in the old policy. There is no guarantee that
economic support will be there for as long as it takes for a victim to get back on her feet, and no
indication that the NFL even understands that a six-game unpaid suspension could spark even
higher level of violence."15 She brings up a great point, and it makes you think, did the NFL
rush this new policy? At the end of the day what happens to the victim doesn’t seem to be the
NFLs problem. Say a player is kicked out of the League, and is now out of the ‘spotlight’ that is
the NFL. What happens to the women in his life? It can easily be said that they are even in
more danger now than they were when dating a NFL player. Granted I’m not saying a lifetime
ban for those who have domestic violence issues is a bad thing because I think it is needed, but
more needs to be done for the victims. The NFL needs to set-up some sort of safe Haven for
those affected by men in its league. CSR implementations should be done as a way to better the
community around you, and the NFL is powerful enough to influence many within society. The
quickness, and lack on detail, regarding the new policy makes it seem that the NFL is simply
more interested in saving face, rather than doing what is right. While the NFL should be
thinking about ethical issues in the decision it had handed down to Rice, it is once again stuck in
the instrumental mind and thought process. The NFL is thinking we need to put this fire out as
soon as possible, show the public that we care, and get back to making as much money as we can
sooner rather than later. This was a time where NFL officials should have stopped thinking
14 JOSH LEVS, NFL TOUGHENS POLICY ADDRESSING ASSAULT AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (CNN 2014),
HTTP://WWW.CNN.COM/2014/12/10/US/NFL-CONDUCT/.
15 Id.

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about money and started thinking about those who are affected by domestic violence everyday
and how they could help.
While the policy change was a decent start, let’s be honest, how many casual football
fans are going to know that Goodell put this policy in place. While it was widely reported across
the majority of sports networks, such as ESPN, that still does not reach the amount of people the
NFL wants it to reach. So the NFL decided to utilize its biggest weapon, football. The best way
to reach the millions of fans that watch their favorite team every week is a public service
announcement during commercial breaks. The NFL decided to team up with ‘No More’, an
organization that was formed in an attempt to bring more attention to domestic violence.16 Ads
began running with celebrities stating “No More” followed by reasons that some use as excuses
for domestic violence, and soon implemented current and former NFL players to partake in these
ads.17 However the NFLs attempt to bring attention to domestic violence was once again under
attack. The first thing I noticed right off the bat when I saw a ‘No More’ ad was “these players
don’t want to be here.” Their responses and lines seemed very robotic, with the few exceptions.
The ads all around seemed like the NFL asked a few big name players to participate, and those
players felt obligated to say yes to their employers. I understand it is a very serious topic, but the
lack of any sort of emotion from the players doing the commercials shocked me, and the whole
thing just seemed forced. And I soon found out that I was not the only one to be critical of the
NFLs latest attempt. Once people did a little digging on the founder of ‘No More’ they were
even less impressed. Co-founder Jane Randel was brought on by the NFL as an advisor because
she must know a great amount about domestic violence since she was a founder of this
16 JOHN KOBLIN,THE TEAM BEHIND THE N.F.L.’S ‘NO MORE’CAMPAIGN (THE NEW YORK TIMES2015),
HTTP://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/2015/01/04/STYLE/THE-TEAM-BEHIND-THE-NFLS-NO-MORE-CAMPAIGN.HTML?_R=0.
17 Id.

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organization. But low and behold her background is not in domestic violence, it is in “reputation
and crisis management” and “corporate rebranding.”18 The question once again arises, does the
NFL care about bringing awareness to domestic violence, or is they more concerned about the
public’s view of them as an organization and how much money is being stuffed into their
pockets.
Learning more about the Problem
So far we have reviewed how the NFL handled the problem from both a policy
standpoint, and an awareness standpoint. Both actions that the NFL took however had debatable
purposes behind them. It seemed like everything up to this point was attempting to convince the
public as a whole the NFL cares about domestic violence, and wants to help do whatever they
can in order to put an end to it, where really all it cares about is saving face, putting out fires, and
getting everything back to ‘normal’ so the money can continue to roll in. The NFLs next stand
may be the smartest thing it has accomplished in the wake of the Ray Rice disaster. Goodell
decided that he wanted the entire NFL, players, owners, and every employee to learn more about
domestic violence and how they can help. In a memo sent out to all teams in the league Goodell
stated “Starting this season, we will dedicate significant resources to raise awareness on the
subjects of domestic violence and sexual assault, including support for victims. These are by no
means final steps. 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
18 DIANA MOSKOVITZ,NO MORE,THE NFL'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PARTNER,ISA SHAM (DEADSPIN 2015),
HTTP://DEADSPIN.COM/NO-MORE-THE-NFLS-DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE-PARTNER-IS-A-SHAM-1683348576.

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within the NFL and in our society in general."19 As part of these initiatives the NFL teamed up
with The National Domestic Abuse Hotline (Hotline) as well as The National Sexual Violence
Resource Center (NSVRC).20 It was learned that the Hotline received an 84% spike in calls
during the second week of September, and more than half those calls went unanswered due to
lack of support and resources. The NFL believes that they can help ensure that this does not
happen in the future.21 By supporting these foundations, both financially and by brining
awareness to them, the NFL is taking the steps necessary to fix a major problem in society.
Applying Policies
Unfortunately since the Ray Rice situation the NFL has still been hit with domestic
violence issues. However these new cases are a good measuring point to see how the NFL is
handling these cases as opposed to how they handled the Rice case. The case of Greg Hardy, a
defensive player for the Carolina Panthers, was happening at a similar time as the Rice incident.
While the Rice events occurred in February 2014, Hardy was accused of beating his girlfriend in
the middle of May 2014. Two months later Goodell would hand down Rice’s two game
suspensions, opening the flood gates to criticism, and Hardy may be his first chance at
redemption, or his first chance to pile on the problems.22 Hardy is convicted by a Judge on July
15th, and after realizing the how poorly the NFL handled the Rice case a new domestic violence
19 GOODELL SENT MEMO TO TEAMSABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCES (THE NFL 2014),
HTTP://WWW.NFL.COM/NEWS/STORY/0AP3000000397110/ARTICLE/GOODELL-SENT-MEMO-TO-TEAMS-ABOUT-
DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE-RESOURCES.
20 Id.
21 Id.
22 LOUIS BIEN, A COMPLETETIMELINE OF THE RAY RICE ASSAULT CASE (SB NATION 2014),

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policy was put in place on August 28th.23 In theory this is a great time for the NFL to follow
their new plan, and suspend Hardy without pay for at least the first six games of the 2014 NFL
season. Hardy plays week 1, and the NFL whiffs on their first true chance to do something right.
However in an attempt to redeem themselves Hardy, voluntarily, is placed on the
“Commissioners exempt list” and would not play another game during the 2014 season, but was
paid his salary of $13 million.24 In early 2015 all charges are dropped against Hardy and he
pleas his case to the NFL to reinstate him. The NFL agrees to take Hardy off of the
“Commissioners exempt list” however will be suspended for the first 10 games of the 2015
season. A neutral arbitrator would eventually reduce this suspension down to four games,
because Hardy was successfully able to argue that his actions occurred at a time before the new
domestic violence policy was put into place, thus making the minimum six game suspension
unnecessary.25
Greg Hardy is a big name player in the NFL, which is why so much attention was given
on his actions and discipline. However Ray McDonald is not so much of a big name, and is what
many people consider to be the first real challenge the NFL faced under the new Domestic
Violence Policy. McDonald was arrested once in 2014 for domestic violence, and investigated
on a separate account of sexual assault late 2014.26 The second investigation led the San
23 TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN GREG HARDY CASE (ESPN.COM 2015), HTTP://ESPN.GO.COM/BLOG/DALLAS-
COWBOYS/POST/_/ID/4743265/TIMELINE-OF-EVENTS-IN-GREG-HARDY-CASE.
24 TIMELINE OF EVENTSIN GREG HARDY CASE (ESPN.COM 2015), HTTP://ESPN.GO.COM/BLOG/DALLAS-
25 TIMELINE OF EVENTSIN GREG HARDY CASE (ESPN.COM 2015), HTTP://ESPN.GO.COM/BLOG/DALLAS-
26 LINDSAY H. JONES, BEARS RELEASE RAY MCDONALD AFTER ARREST ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,CHILD
ENDANGERMENT CHARGES (U.S. TODAY 2015),

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Francisco 49ers to release McDonald, however after investigations led by the NFL it was
determined by league officials there was not enough to suspend McDonald since charges were
dropped, or never filed in the sexual assault case.27 If a player puts themselves in any sort of
position that would lead to a domestic violence arrest or sexual assault investigation there is
enough to suspend them under the new policy. The NFL should have zero tolerance for anything
of that nature. Under the new domestic violence policy a second-time offender is banned from
the NFL for life, but McDonald signed to play with the Chicago Bears for the 2015 season. That
is until he was once again arrested in May 2015 for domestic violence and child endangerment,
and was immediately released by the Bears.28 This was his third offense in less than a year, and
the NFL was still giving him the chance to play on Sundays. The bears did the right thing by
cutting all ties with him just hours after his third arrest, however the NFL has still yet to do the
right thing. While every team in the NFL knows giving McDonald a fourth chance is absolutely
not an option, but they could if they wanted to and would if they could get away with it. The
NFL has yet to ban McDonald for life, which should have been done the day following his third
arrest. The fact that cases such as Hardy, and McDonald have been handled the way they have
shows the lack of seriousness the NFL has when it comes to doing its part that will help put an
end to domestic violence. At the end of the day the facts remain, if you can play football and
help put the best product possible on the field the NFL is going to do whatever they can to keep
you in the league.
HTTP://WWW.USATODAY.COM/STORY/SPORTS/NFL/BEARS/2015/05/25/RAY-MCDONALD-ARREST-DOMESTIC-
VIOLENCE/27914733/.
27 Id.
28 Id.

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From the viewpoint of the players in the league it also seems that the educational process
that every member employed by any part of the NFL was supposed to partake in was not as
helpful as it should have been. Such a great ideas success is based off delivery, and if the NFL
can’t deliver the information in a way that will reach its players then a day of learning becomes
useless. Many players were hesitant on letting their voices be heard with regards to how they feel
the domestic violence awareness presentation given to each of the 32 teams went for fear of
being disciplined by speaking out against the league. (Good sign). However Cincinnati Bengals
Eric Winston had this to say when asked whether he felt the educational expierence
accomplished what it set out to accomplish; "I don't think the league has done the players a
service, "They haven't approached them in an educational way that, if there is some symptoms or
there is some precursors, perhaps, like, ‘Hey, if you're experiencing these things or thinking
these things, why don't we talk about it.' Instead of taking a tone that's ‘We can educate you, we
can help you,' it's ‘You're a bad person.'”29 When the NFL Players Association, the union that
represents all NFL players, reached out to the league as a way to coordinate efforts to better get
the message across the leagues response was; “Look, players are perpetrators and the inference
was they should be treated as such”30 What was once a fantastic plan of attack to educate all
NFL employees about the risk, signs and prevention of domestic violence, turned on the NFL
conducting presentations to a bunch of “perpetrators” So how exactly was the NFL able to botch
the one good idea they had when it came to domestic violence awareness? Easy, they rushed the
process just to get it over with and say ‘Hey look what we did! Now everyone is our league is
aware of domestic violence’ just liked it rushed the new “zero tolerance” policy. In 2014 Ann
29 SARAH KOGOD, PLAYERS DON'T THINK THE NFL'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TRAININGIS WORKING, SB NATION,
MAY 6, 2015 AT ,HTTP://WWW.SBNATION.COM/NFL/2015/5/6/8209087/NFL-DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE-TRAINING-
PRESENTATION-NFLPA.
30 Id.

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Isaacson was appointed VP of Social Responsibility, rough job to have with the NFL, and it was
under her guidance that this training program was implemented. The NFLs goal was to educate
all 32 teams in eight weeks.31 The NFL hoped to solve all their domestic violence problems in
eight weeks and then never have to think about it again because they did all they could. The
training program consisted of a 60-minute presentation, involving a 26 minute PowerPoint, and
34 minutes of whatever instructor your team happens to have rambling on about domestic
violence.32 There was no playbook, no consistency between instructors, and no recording of the
presentations so it remains unclear what message was given to each team. The majority of what
players learned was who to report possible domestic violence issues to, when the point should
have been what are signs of possible domestic violence, and how to help yourself or your
teammates if you feel you are having anger issues, and could possibly harm a loved one. There
was no reason to attempt and reach all 32 teams in eight weeks besides the notion that time is
money. There was no reason that these presentations had to be limited to 60 minutes, or that the
level of inconsistency could be so high. NFL players feel that the message they received was
nowhere near the message that should have been spread, and if the people it was meant to affect
most feel it isn’t working, then there is a big problem with the system. Once again an idea that
seems so good on paper, and looks great in the eyes of the public, is botched by the NFL just so
they can say they did it, and receive some good publicity at the same time.
NFLs Poor Timing
31 SARAH KOGOD, PLAYERS DON'T THINK THE NFL'S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TRAININGIS WORKING, SB NATION,
MAY 6, 2015 AT ,HTTP://WWW.SBNATION.COM/NFL/2015/5/6/8209087/NFL-DOMESTIC-VIOLENCE-TRAINING-
PRESENTATION-NFLPA.
32 Id.

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The NFL has attempted to do a lot to fix the major issue of how poorly they handled
multiple domestic violence cases. The problem is it took a major public relation disaster for the
NFL to shine some light on this issue. The raises the question, if the Ray Rice incident never
occurred would the NFL even care about domestic violence today, and do they even truly care
about bringing awareness to the topic? It took until 2015 for the NFL to address a societal
problem that has been an issue long before the league even existed. This is also a reason behind
the fact that we, as society, cannot blame the NFL for domestic violence. Incidents are going to
occur, whether they are domestic violence related or not, and players are going to continue to
find themselves on the wrong side of the law when they are not playing football. That being said
these issues are bigger than the NFL, and it is in prime position to reach millions of people week
in and week out to spread awareness, and show that this issues are things the NFL finds
unacceptable. However it was not until the NFL was forced to make a move did they even
acknowledge such a horrific topic, and attempt to “change” itself and its values.
The NFL is Killing its Players
The Science of Concussion
The NFL is a hard hitting sport, and it’s no surprise that injuries are going to happen. For
the most part these injuries will sideline players for a certain period of time, but they will heal
and be able to get back onto the field eventually. Over the past 20 years scientist and doctors
have discovered common injuries that contact sport players are diagnosed with that do not
necessarily heal over time. These are injuries to the brain, and more specifically concussions.
While advances in science are the reason we know so much about the brain and injuries to it
today, the NFL denied any relationship between hard hits and lifelong brain injuries for an

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extended period of time. I am not sure how this was possible because anyone who has seen great
football movies from the 1990s such as Any Given Sunday and Varsity Blues know that even
Hollywood has used the plot of concussions and forcing players to play through them ending
badly. If the NFL had indeed known about the link between concussions and traumatic brain
injuries, they may have breached a duty that they owed to their employees, the players on the
field. A principal has a duty to act in accordance with the express and implied terms of any
contract between the principal and the agent.33 Such an implied term of any contract between a
player and the NFL may be player safety. If the NFL purposely ignored facts that it knew could
affect a players’ safety then this duty is breached. In order to break down whether there was a
breach in duty, and review what the league has done in more recent years, here is a time table of
events regarding concussion research.
Year Event
1994 -NFL creates Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) committee appoint Dr. Elliot
Pellman to run it. Dr. Pellman tells Sports Illustrated “concussions are part of the
profession, an occupational risk. Commissioner Tagliabue dismisses any notion
concussions are a problem.
1995 -NFL agent Leigh Steinberg hold conference for players to listen to medical
professionals explains dangers of concussions.
1999 -Former player Mike Webster files for disability with NFL Retirement Board,
claiming football caused dementia. Board later rules Webster permanently
disabled; ruling shows possible knowledge of link between injuries and football.
2000 -Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says start QB Troy Aikman should ignore
concussion concerns if it’s a “big game”. Aikman retires 6 months later due to
concussion problems.
2002 *Dr. Bennet Omalu examines Webster’s brain closer discovering a brain disease
never before seen in football players, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
This would turn out to be the biggest concussion breakthrough to date.
2003 -More studies show repeat concussions may lead to slower recovery of
neurological function.
-MTBI chairman allows a player who was knocked out unconscious back in to
game moments after injury occurred.
2004 -Former player Justin Strzelczyk complains of depression and erratic behavior
33 Restatement (Third) Of Agency § 8.13 (2006)

18
dies in a car accident, CTE found in his brain by Dr. Omalu.
-NFL still denies any lingering effects of concussions, and extended treatment
time. Dispute all other medical findings. States NFL players are less susceptible
to brain injuries than the general public. They have “evolved”
2005 -MTBI publishes paper stating return to play after concussion does not increase
injury risk.
-Former player Terry Long commits suicide at age of 45, CTE was found in his
brain.
-Dr. Omalu publishes his findings for the first time in the journal Neurosurgery.
2006 -Former player Andre Waters commits suicide at age 44, Dr. Omalu discovers
CTE in his brain.
-NFL stats Dr. Omalu is completely wrong, his findings are “fallacious
reasoning” and his papers should be retracted from Neurosurgery journal
2007 -Roger Goodell takes over as commissioner, points to MTBI committee as proof
of leagues commitment, even though all they have done is deny reports.
-Dr. Ira Casson, an actual neurologist takes over as chairman to MTBI
committee.
-Research shows players with history of 3 or more concussions “significantly
greater risk” of depression.
-Dr, Casson denies any and all evidence linking head injuries to depression,
dementia, or any long term injuries in HBO interview. Dubbed “Dr. No”
2009 -NY Times reports NFL study shows former players 19 times more likely to get
dementia, Alzheimer’s, or memory related disease than general public.
-Dr. Ann McKee, who was ignored by NFL, presents CTE findings at
Congressional hearing. Rep. Linda Sanchez (Cali) tells Goodell problem reminds
her that of tobaccos industry ignoring link between smoking and cancer.
-NFL Spokesman tells NY Times its obvious due to medical research
concussions can lead to long-term problems. This marks the first time league
admits knowledge.
-NFL implements stricter return to play guidelines post concussion
2010 -League warns concussions can “change your life forever” donate $30 million to
National Institutes of Health for brain trauma research.
2011 -Dave Duerson commits suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a note
stating he wants his brain to be donated to science.
-Former player Ray Easterling files lawsuit against NFL with 4,500 others
claiming league engaged in “concerted effort of deception and denial” in
handling concussions.
2012 Ray Easterling and Junior Seau commit both diagnosed with CTE; NFL steered
Seau’s brain towards their doctors who found CTE anyways.
2013 -NFL Players Association funds $100 million study at Harvard Medical School
for an array of medical issues for both current and former players.
-NFL announces surprise settlement to former player’s lawsuit of $765 million.
Goodell states this was not “an admission of guilt.” Settlement was thrown out
by Judge who believed it was insufficient.

19
All facts used in above timeline.34
Just as the NFL so poorly handled the domestic violence issues the past 2 years, it has
been poorly handling concussion protocol since the mid 90s. The best simile drawn on how the
NFL undertook the idea of concussions was how big tobacco denied the link to cancer, as
democratic rep Linda Sanchez pointed out.
What level of duty did the NFL owe its players?
All NFL players are employees of both the NFL, and whatever individual team they
happen to play for. Due to an employee employer relationship existing, the NFL owes players a
certain level of duty. Employers owe their employees a duty to reasonably ensure safe working
conditions with respect to the type of work that is being done.35 In this case if the NFL had
knowledge of long-term health risks attached to concussions there would be a strong argument
for negligence on behalf of the retired, and even current, players. In order to prove negligence
players would have to show five things. First that there was a duty owed to them, the second
being that duty was breached, there was a causation between the breach of that duty and the
injuries sustained, proximate cause showing the harm was within the scope of liability and
finally damages, which the players would have to show they experienced actual harm due to the
NFLs actions.36 The NFL attempted to settle this case for the same reasons any firm wants to
34 LAUREN EZELL,TIMELINE:THE NFL’S CONCUSSION CRISIS (PBS 2013),
HTTP://WWW.PBS.ORG/WGBH/PAGES/FRONTLINE/SPORTS/LEAGUE-OF-DENIAL/TIMELINE-THE-NFLS-CONCUSSION-
CRISIS/.
35 Restatement (Second) of Agency § 435 (1958)
36 LEGAL INFORMATION INSTITUTE UNIV.OF CORNELL LAW SCHOOL [HEREINAFTER NEGLIGENCE],
HTTPS://WWW.LAW.CORNELL.EDU/WEX/NEGLIGENCE.

20
settle, because they do not think they can win the case, and if they lose at trial damages are going
to be higher than if they settle. While the NFL argued that reaching a settlement was not an
admission of guilt or any wrong doing, it’s hard to imagine another reason to shell out $765
million other than knowing you were wrong and going to lose unimaginable damages at trial, as
big tobacco found out when they had to pay over $300 billion in the early 1990s. IN reviewing
the five parts test of negligence a conclusion can be made if the retired players should have
accepted the term to settlement, or if they should have continued to fight. It is clear there was a
duty here. The NFL had at the very least a general idea that concussion, and more specifically,
repeated concussions, could lead to long-term brain damage. There is an assumption of risk when
it comes to playing football, but it is reasonable to believe that the assumption is broken bones,
or injuries of that nature. How long has there been an assumption of risk that injuries sustained
while playing football could kill you 20 years later. This is a recent development, but will be an
assumption of risk for every player that steps onto the football field from now on. By covering
up any ideas the NFL had regarding concussions the NFL breached the duty it owed to the
players. There is a casual connection between this breach and the injuries sustained by the
players. If the NFL took the necessary steps to protect players from multiple head injuries, and
put rules regarding concussions and return to playing into place long before they did, they could
have protected themselves from future lawsuits. There are a few bumps when it comes to
causation though. CTE can only be diagnosed through autopsy, making it impossible to prove if
a retired player who is still alive is suffering from CTE or not.37 This also brings a lot of
37 DARREN HEITNER ,WHY MOST NFL TEAMS AND THE NFLPA HAVE ESCAPED BEING NAMED DEFENDANTSIN
NFL CONCUSSION LITIGATION (FORBES2012), HTTP://WWW.FORBES.COM/SITES/DARRENHEITNER/2012/08/01/WHY-
MOST-NFL-TEAMS-AND-THE-NFLPA-HAVE-ESCAPED-BEING-NAMED-DEFENDANTS-IN-NFL-CONCUSSION-LITIGATION/.

21
variables into play, and while the majority of professionals do believe that repeated head trauma
is the leading cause of CTE, it is hard to completely rule out outside factors such as genetics, or
substance abuse.38 This would have made the causation argument in court more difficult;
however it is still not an entirely impossible battle.
At the end of the day, even though they had to pay out almost $400 million in damages, it
can be said that the NFL walked away with a victory. Paul Anderson is a consulting attorney
and has been following concussion litigation since the beginning, even starting up his own
website where he can post updates with regards to the lawsuits. When it comes to the settlement
reached by the league and players Mr. Anderson stated; “The NFL has all-but eliminated any
future threat of concussion litigation, saved itself from potentially damaging discovery and
turned a PR nightmare into a salvageable message of philanthropy. Class counsel, too, will get to
share in more than $112.5 million in class attorneys’ fees, for essentially promoting a slick
advertising campaign in which they convinced 99% of the class members to “accept” the
settlement—by not opting out.”39 The NFL taking a public relations nightmare, throwing money
at it, and turning it into a philanthropy campaign, stop me if you have heard this story before.
A Tale of Two Issues
The NFL has faced two very different, yet very severe, issues within the past 5 years and
the way it chose to handle the two were eerily similar. At first both issues were attempted to be
covered up, or if you want to believe the NFL were not fully investigated to the best of its
38 Boston University CTE Center. Frequently asked questions. http://www.bu.edu/cte/about/
frequently-asked-questions/
39 PAUL ANDERSON , NFL CONCUSSION LITIGATION (2012), HTTP://NFLCONCUSSIONLITIGATION.COM/.

22
abilities. The Ray Rice tapes that finally made its way to the public were deemed to never have
been in possession of the NFL, and the fact that concussions cause lasting brain trauma seems to
have been a shock for the NFL. While the NFL admitted some guilt in the handling of the Ray
Rice incident, it refuses to admit any wrong-doing when it comes to concussions, which is even
stated right in the settlement that just because the settlement is being paid does not mean the
NFL is admitting any guilt. After not taking accountability for its actions the NFL then decides
that the best way to handle each situation is to throw as much money as need be in order to make
it go away, or seem like everything is ok. If the NFL did know that concussion were this
harmful, or had seen the elevator tape prior to giving Ray Rice a two game suspension, then a
plan on how they would handle if the news ever broke had to be created. Now maybe this is just
how the NFL handles all the issues that it is faced with dealing. However let’s digress for a
moment and take a look at two examples of how the NFL handled certain situations, the first
being another controversial topic that hit the NFL this past year; Deflategate. As an extremely
biased fan towards Tom Brady and the New England Patriots I won’t get too much into the
issues, or my opinions, but from a procedural standpoint I think it is important to look at how the
NFL, and Roger Goodell, handled this one. After the Patriots were accused of using under
inflated footballs during a big playoff game an independent investigation took place. This lead
to the Wells Report, a 147 page document that more or less said the Patriots and Brady were
“more probable than not” that the team was “generally aware” that those footballs were under
inflated.40 A week later Tom Brady is suspended for four games, for “violating the integrity of
40 THEODORE V. WELLS, JR., The Wells Report, 2015 , MAY 6, 2015 AT (2015), HTTP://WELLSREPORTCONTEXT.COM/.

23
the game.”41 Wait a minute. Brady gets hit with four games for maybe knowing that the
footballs he was using were underinflated and Greg Hardy received four due to his direct
involvement in beating up his girlfriend. Once again the NFL shoots themselves in the foot. To
make matters worse after Brady appeals to an “independent arbitrator” his suspension his held,
mostly because that “independent arbitrator” was Roger Goodell, the man who handed down the
suspension. To make a long story short the Brady takes the NFL to court who uplifts the
suspension due to the unfairness of the process and lack of evidence. So Goodell appeals; yes he
actually appealed this.42 Which brings me to my point; The NFL is willing to deny, refuse to
listen to outside sources, and eventually cave and pay people off with millions of dollars once the
public is in an uproar with regards to topics such as player safety and domestic violence, but
when it comes to a team that many believe Goodell as a personal vendetta with will go to any
and all extreme lengths in order to attempt to reveal the truth of the matter regarding how big
Tom Brady’s balls are. Can this league get any more backwards when it comes to giving the
proper issues the right amount of attention?
A second example of questionable decisions by the NFL was the 2012 referee lockout.
When the league and the referee union could not come to terms with a new collective bargaining
contract there was a lockout forcing the league to use “replacement officials” for the start of the
2012 season.43 The league believed it had the upper hand, but the replacement officials soon
became the main story of every Monday morning, and how bad of a job they were doing. Once
41 Timeline of Events for Deflategate, 2015 , MAR.9, 2015 AT (2015), HTTP://ESPN.GO.COM/BLOG/NEW-ENGLAND-
PATRIOTS/POST/_/ID/4782561/TIMELINE-OF-EVENTS-FOR-DEFLATEGATE-TOM-BRADY.
42 Id.
43 MICHAEL PEARSON, SORRY ABOUT THAT,NFL CHIEF SAYS OF REPLACEMENTS, 2012 CNN, OCT. 1, 2012 AT
(2012), HTTP://WWW.CNN.COM/2012/09/27/SPORT/NFL-REFEREES-DEAL/.

24
the entire situation came to a head when the referees single handily caused the Green Bay
Packers to lose a Monday Night Football game during the third week of the NFL season, which
was being watched by the entire world, the NFL knew the jig was up.44 The next day a new
collective bargaining agreement was put in place, and the regular referees were back on the field
the following Sunday. So for three weeks the NFL thought they could continue to skate by with
the replacement refs, and believed they were doing a good enough job to continue the lockout.
But once the entire world saw exactly how bad of a job was being done, and the fact theses refs
had no business out there, there was a public uproar, and the NFL made a change. So to go full
circle, if the NFL thinks it is right, or believes that it is doing nothing wrong it will continue to
operate under that state of mind until the fans start to get a little restless, then it will cave and
spend the money it needs to spend in order to “fix” the situation and make the fans happy again.
Which in theory is a great business model, the fans are the customers of the NFL and a business
always wants their customers to be happy. However if fans seem to not really care about
whatever issue is up for debate, such as Deflategate, the NFL will flex its muscles, spend money
that it really doesn’t need to spend, and go to Earths end in order to achieve what it truly believes
is “justice.” It is sort of like saying every board member or upper executive of McDonalds is
going to vote for Donald Trump to be President; I think the idea is absolutely crazy, but it’s not
going to stop me from ordering a Big Mac. But if those same board members have a long history
of domestic violence issues, something might need to change before I make my next stop there.
At the end of the day with regards to the NFL its Roger Goodells’ world and we’re just living in
it.
44 MICHAEL PEARSON, SORRY ABOUT THAT,NFL CHIEF SAYS OF REPLACEMENTS, 2012 CNN, OCT. 1, 2012 AT
(2012), HTTP://WWW.CNN.COM/2012/09/27/SPORT/NFL-REFEREES-DEAL/.

25
The Teams Perspective
The NFL is making it look like it wants to change, and is taking steps in the right
direction to do so; at least on paper. However I think it is important to look at what individual
teams are doing in order to cope with the issues that have hit the NFL as a whole. Maybe
individual teams are making better strides than the NFL, and it is time for the NFL to look
towards them in order to make better changes as a whole organization. When looking at what
teams are doing in the handling of athletes that have off-field misconduct issues I always want to
attempt to answer the question; does Roger Goodell have any business is disciplining these
athletes in the first place? If a team is self-governing and can hand down penalties on their own,
whether they are to athletes or any other employee within the organization, then the NFL should
allow that team to take care of its own business.
The Aaron Hernandez Effect
Aaron Hernandez had a history of drug abuse, multiple failed drug tests for marijuana,
and violence, multiple bar fights and encounters with law enforcement, during his time in college
at Florida University. While he could have been drafted much earlier because all teams knew he
had a very successful career in college and would be a good NFL tight end, he fell until the
fourth round where the New England Patriots eventually decided to take the risk on him in
2010.45 Three years later he is arrested and eventually convicted of murder. With a history of
character issues it can be argued that Aaron Hernandez had no business being in the NFL in the
45 SEAN PENDERGAST, THE AARON HERNANDEZ EFFECT: NFL TEAMS ARE GETTING PICKIER IN THE DRAFT
— OR NOT, 2015 HOUS. PRESS, MAY 12, 2015 AT (2015), HTTP://WWW.HOUSTONPRESS.COM/NEWS/THE-AARON-
HERNANDEZ-EFFECT-NFL-TEAMS-ARE-GETTING-PICKIER-IN-THE-DRAFT-OR-NOT-7420054.

26
first place, and that players need to be under higher scrutiny in their college days because player
in the NFL is a privilege, not a right. With the NFL constantly being profit seeking, and will to
do whatever it needs to do in order to hit that $25 billion goal, it is never going to tell a possible
star player that he cannot join the NFL, which means it is up to individual teams to self-govern
themselves and think about these athletes can bring to their organization besides football talents.
These athletes need to be thought of as people as well as players. In this past NFL draft in April
there were multiple players with domestic violence issues, failed drug tests, and overall
questionable character fitness reports that were slated as first or second round draft picks, which
fell to the fourth or fifth round. This is the same story that played out with regards to Aaron
Hernandez, instead of going undrafted and passed by all teams he just fell in the draft. The
simple answer to why this is is because teams are getting first round talent and only have to pay
them fourth round money, which is considerably different. In the 2014 draft a first round draft
pick could make anywhere from $20 to $7 million depending on their draft position, and signing
bonus as opposed to a fourth round draft pick who would make around $2.5 million.46 It once
again comes down to economics instead of ethics, and teams are unwilling to pass on what they
believe to be a fantastic “value” and are willing to take the risk of this player having character
issues because at the end of the day they are only losing out on $2 million, which we know is
pocket change in the NFL.
Long before Aaron Hernandez was an NFL issue, the Houston Texans had strong beliefs
in drafting players out of college that passed their character fitness evaluation. The Texans have
plenty of ‘red flag’ players for every draft and once a player makes that list he is considered un-
46 MARK SANDRITTER, NFLDRAFT 2014:TRACKING ROOKIE CONTRACTS, 2014 SB NATION,JULY 24, 2014 AT
(2014), HTTP://WWW.SBNATION.COM/NFL/2014/5/18/5727546/NFL-ROOKIE-CONTRACTS-SIGNED-2014-DRAFT.

27
draftable by the organization. A failed drug test will get them on this list because as former
General Manager Charley Casserly stated “We assumed a guy that knew the test was coming and
still failed couldn’t manage his life.”47 Which makes a lot of sense since every player who wants
to enter the NFL draft faces a drug test, and shouldn’t be surprised when it happens. Even
though the Texans are a fairly younger franchise when compared to other NFL organizations,
there is very little poor character players in their past, and have been able to stay away from off-
field misconduct issues. It seems the rest of the NFL could take a lesson from the Houston
Texans, one team that is actually putting ethical decisions a head of football success.
The NFL vs. The Justice System
Since more teams are not taking the ethical steps that the Texans are, yet, I think there
needs to be more accountability and self-regulating when it comes to player discipline. Basically
I feel that the NFL as a whole needs to take a step back when it comes to the disciplinary
process, and allow the teams that decided to draft or sign a particular player to handle any issue
that comes with that player. The day Aaron Hernandez was arrested he was released by the New
England Patriots. They didn’t wait for a trial, or for further evidence on whether he may be
acquitted or not, they released him and did their best over the next few weeks to distance
themselves as much as possible.48 This included any fan that had purchased a Hernandez jersey
the opportunity to replace it with a different player one day at Gillette Stadium. At the end of the
day the NFL did not need to step in and discipline Hernandez any further because our fantastic
Justice system did that for them. The NFL isn’t going to ban Hernandez for life after he has been
47 SEAN PENDERGAST, THE AARON HERNANDEZ EFFECT: NFL TEAMS ARE GETTING PICKIER IN THE DRAFT
— OR NOT, 2015 HOUS. PRESS, MAY 12, 2015 AT (2015), HTTP://WWW.HOUSTONPRESS.COM/NEWS/THE-AARON-
HERNANDEZ-EFFECT-NFL-TEAMS-ARE-GETTING-PICKIER-IN-THE-DRAFT-OR-NOT-7420054.
48 Id.

28
sentenced to life in prison by a jury of his peers. However many players, such as Adrian
Peterson this past summer, have gone through the justice system and come out “clean” on the
other side. Peterson went to court facing child abuse charges and after pleading ‘no contest’ was
given 80 hours of community service, a $4,000 fine, and placed on probation. Due to the laws of
Texas it was not illegal, or incarceration worthy at least, in that jurisdiction. So if our justice
system says conduct by an individual is not illegal, why is it ok for a private organization to say
it is and thus apply disciplinary actions against him? As Marc Edelman from Forbes points out;
“In most other private industries, employees that engage in wrongdoing when not at work are
either punished by the judicial system or by their employer. They are not subjected to industry-
wide discipline.”49 With this logic it would be up to the Minnesota Vikings to discipline Adrian
Peterson, and not the League as a whole which makes a lot of sense. The argument that teams
are going to be biased against their own players and handed down suspensions is mute because
of the public backlash they would receive. I think individual franchises are more than capable of
knowing what an acceptable discipline to players off field misconduct are, and can be trusted to
hand down the proper suspension. If they don’t they will hear it from the fans just as the NFL
has heard it over the past two years. Putting this type of power into the hands of individual
franchises is going to increase their accountability. When an off-field issue occurs nothing
changes with regards to day to day business at the team level as they wait for the punishment to
be handed down from the NFL front offices. Now if it was up to the team to figure out the proper
discipline time and effort is going away from employees that would rather be using their time
49 MARC EDELMAN , WHY AARON HERNANDEZ'S CONVICTION DOES LITTLE TO SUPPORT THE NEED FOR AN NFL
PERSONAL CONDUCT POLICY, 2015 FORBES SPORTSMONEY,APR.19,2015 AT (2015),
HTTP://WWW.FORBES.COM/SITES/MARCEDELMAN/2015/04/19/WHY-AARON-HERNANDEZS-CONVICTION-DOES-LITTLE-
TO-SUPPORT-THE-NEED-FOR-AN-NFL-PERSONAL-CONDUCT-POLICY/2/.

29
and effort into making the team better and focusing on football. Instead of the NFL investigating
accusations, and going over police reports, it would be the teams’ responsibility, and when it
comes to winning in the NFL any time not spent on making the best possible product to play on
Sunday is going put you at a disadvantage. Thus teams may start to stay away from those
players with character issues because they do not want to take the risk of having to deal with any
potential in-house disciplinary actions. Taking on more accountability, no matter what industry
you are working in, is going to affect many decisions that organizations makes.
By taking the NFL out of the disciplinary process it would be able to spend the majority
of its time working on more important business goals, and continue to improve to most popular
sport in the country. Any on-field issues should still be in the NFLs jurisdiction, meaning it
would continue to regulate rules and insure that all teams were following said rules. NFL should
also be in charge if disciplining any actions that occur while playing each Sunday. Fining
players for dangerous hits to the head would be a great example of what the NFL should be in
charge of. In 2014 28 players were arrested from the Super Bowl on February 2nd until the start
of the season in the first week of September.50 Thinking about what the NFL could accomplish
during the offseason if they did not have to deal with another one of its employees getting
arrested in unfathomable. The NFL could be attempting to solve the concussion problem that is
affecting so many of its players both past and present. Or it could be taking its time in actually
developing a plan on how to help those who have been affected by domestic violence, not just a
shady layout of how many games one should be suspended when the inevitable happens and they
beat their significant other. I think invoking some sort of character fitness test should also not be
50 TONY MANFRED, LIST OF NFL PLAYERSARRESTED SINCE THE SUPER BOWL, 2014 BUS. INSIDER, SEPT.10,2014
AT (2014), HTTP://WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM/LIST-OF-NFL-PLAYER-ARRESTS-2014-9.

30
out of the question. When players are getting ready to enter the NFL Draft they are each judged
on physical abilities, however I think it is time to start judging them on their character fitness as
well. Things such as past convictions, or crimes committed would go against them with this test,
and if they score low enough maybe the NFL should make the decision that their type of
character is not what the NFL is looking for, and deny them from entering the draft. This would
make players much more accountable for their actions while attending college, and they would
have no one to blame but themselves if their NFL dream goes out the window. The majority of
what the NFL has done these past few years has been very reactive, mainly because it has no
other option. However if it was up to the teams to solve the problems of their employees getting
arrested the NFL could begin and take a more proactive role in fixing these problems. Now I’m
not giving the NFL an out here because it has the resources where it could do both no problem,
but at the same time the NFL is shouldering the majority of the blame for these incidents where
the teams are more or less being let off the hook. The Baltimore Ravens aren’t still faces
backlash from how the Ray Rice incident was handled and they stood by him longer than most.
The Minnesota Vikings aren’t being called out for supporting child abuse because they are
allowing Adrian Peterson to play for them still. It’s the NFL that “messed it up” or allows
“thugs and convicts” to play in its league, which is why accountability on behalf of the teams is
what is needed in order to truly begin and see a change across the league as a whole.
Conclusion
The NFL horribly mishandled the Ray Rice domestic violence case. It then horrible
mishandled its new domestic violence policy, the Greg Hardy case, and its brilliant league-wide
educational experience. It possibly lied to its players since who knows how long with regards to
what affect concussions and traumatic brain injuries have on their bodies, and how it could affect

31
their futures. Even from an individual team’s point of view it seems economic value outweighs
ethical values, which seems to be the pattern across the entire league. When I began research for
this paper, I was hoping to find that the league was taking great steps to bring awareness to
domestic violence, they it would be trying to take care of the past players that gave their lives to
the sport, and that there was a change in the near future about how the NFL conducted business.
Unfortunately I feel that is just not going to be the case, and the NFL will continue to do
whatever it has to in order to continue growth at a rate no other industry could accomplish. The
demand for the NFL is just too high for it to stop bringing in money. I can say I am part of the
problem as well because I have learned so much about shady NFL dealings, and lack of
commitment to issues that matter, yet when Sunday arrives I know I’ll be in front of the TV
watching whatever game is on. If the NFL really wants to begin to change I think it could be
fairly simple. It needs to really takes its time in developing, and implementing new policies
regarding not just domestic violence, but all crimes that are getting so many of these young men
arrested year after year. It needs to start worrying about what is right, not what is profitable. If
the NFL doesn’t start to think about its future it might not have one. And finally there needs to
be more accountability across the entire league, not just the front offices but every franchise as
well. Personnel needs to start looking at the type of men they are allowing to join this league,
and being held accountable when those with violent pasts or violent tendencies commit crimes in
the national spotlight. Things are going to happen, nobody is denying that, and this league will
never be perfect. However with such high profits year after year, and setting the tone for sports
industries around the world, the NFL has a chance to really make a change in many different
aspects of life, and by spending a little more time thinking from an ethical or integrative
standpoint it may be able to accomplish that change.

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