NFL: To Borrow from U.S. Military on Handling of Domestic Violence Controversy

By Kara Michelle Sep 28, 2014 01:02 AM EDT

NFL: To Borrow from U.S. Military on Handling of Domestic Violence Controversy

Based on the results of an exclusive NBC News/Marist poll, Mark Murray of NBC News observed that "nearly 90 percent of Americans say the recent outcry about domestic violence in the NFL hasn't changed how much professional football they watch - and less than a third of the nation believes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should resign. [But] a majority of Americans - including nearly six in 10 self-described football fans - say they [also] disapprove of the way the NFL has handled the domestic-violence allegations."

So how did NFL handled the domestic-violence cases of their players? Seven months after Ray Rice was caught on tape punching his then fiancee unconscious inside an elevator, the NFL is still under fire for how that affair was allowed to play out in the press. The league was accused of foot-dragging, of making cover ups and of partiality towards one of their own. Because of that incident, the NFL has also now made itself a focus of attention on how other similar incidence of recent domestic violence will be handled prospectively, including those involving Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dryer, Minnesota Vikings superstar Adrian Peterson, Carolina Panthers defensive-end Greg Hardy, and San Francisco 49ers defender Ray McDonald.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has already publicly apologized, repeatedly, and admitted they may have made a mistake in how the Ray Rice case was handled. He said, "We will get our house in order first.... The same mistakes can never be repeated." He promised that everyone involved with the NFL, from teams to front office staff, will be going through educational and training programs to be more aware of the sensitivity of the issues involved. He said: "I think we can make some changes, and I think there will be positive, in the domestic violence and sexual assault areas, child abuse areas, those are things we think that we can make a big difference on at some point."

This Friday, September 26, Goodell sent a memo to all NFL franchise owners and team presidents updating them on the steps the league has taken to address incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault. According to CBS Sports, one of the report's highlight was the league's meeting with the U.S. Army to discuss the military's approach to "addressing issues of misconduct, including the provision of support services to families and victims."

Like NFL today, the U.S. military faced a similar public-relations problem 12 years ago when four women were killed by their active-duty spouses or partners in a span of about 6 weeks. As with the NFL, the military was criticized for its then apparent inaction on the perceived rise in domestic-violence incidents involving their men. In response, the military initiated a set of both public-relations and actual intervention responses, including the creation of case review committees that can investigate and take action on domestic-violence cases before they reach the formal justice system, or get any unwanted public attention.