Sen. Barbara Boxer has appealed directly to the NFL’s new government affairs liaison to root out domestic violence among players after chastising league Commissioner Roger Goodell for not doing enough to address the problem.
In a Monday letter to Cynthia Hogan, the California Democrat accused Goodell of “glaring omissions” in a much maligned Friday speech in which he apologized for the league’s handling of a rash of domestic violence incidents and vowed to do more to combat the issue.
“Mr. Goodell talked about a process to change the NFL’s policies regarding domestic violence, but he never mentioned zero tolerance as a goal or guiding principle,” Boxer said. “You need to have zero tolerance as a stated goal in order to have policies that achieve it.”
Boxer was one of 16 female senators who sent Goodell a letter earlier this month urging the league to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against domestic violence.
The senator also criticized Goodell for suggesting that law enforcement and judicial officials play a greater role in addressing domestic violence cases in the league, saying such talk rings hollow because “most of these incidents are never reported to law enforcement.”
“It is therefore imperative that the NFL make a real commitment to prevent domestic violence in its ranks, encourage victims to come forward and punish all those responsible, regardless of the level of involvement by law enforcement officials,” she said.
Boxer said she was “heartened” to learn the league hired Hogan, who worked as deputy assistant to the president and counsel to the vice president from 2009 to 2013.
