House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Wednesday that the San Francisco 49ers should not have allowed defensive end Ray McDonald to play in Sunday’s game because of pending domestic violence charges.
Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, said the domestic violence issues in the National Football League reflect a lack of respect for women not just in sports but in the workforce and in laws governing reproductive issues.
“Our coach says innocent until proven guilty, but the fact is, he shouldn’t have played,” Pelosi, a 49ers fan, said of McDonald.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., this week introduced legislation that would revoke the NFL’s longstanding tax-exempt status on the unrelated issue of its handling of the Washington Redskins’ controversial name, but Pelosi did not endorse that legislation on Wednesday.
She also noted that the NFL is conducting its own investigation, headed by two newly hired female executives.
“I think it’s important to see what the investigation yields as to who, what, when and where,” Pelosi said, adding, “depending on what that information is, the outcome will be self-evident to the NFL.”
