Earlier this year, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was arrested for the aggravated assault of Janay Palmer, his fiancee. The assault was especially newsworthy because video of Rice dragging an unconscious Palmer off an elevator went viral, but it’s hardly the only incident of violence against women involving NFL players.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has complete discretion in punishing players who violate the league’s personal conduct policy. Last week, he gave Rice a two-game suspension and a $58,000 fine. His decision to dole out such a weak punishment, which is lighter than what players who smoke marijuana receive, has sent shockwaves through the league and the media. On Monday, the NFL doubled down when NFL senior vice president of labor policy Adolpho Birch went on the radio and defended Goodell’s decision as “appropriate.”

The NFL’s leadership is sending a clear but terrible message that violence against women doesn’t matter to the league.

Enough’s enough: Join over 50,000 CREDO activists to tell NFL Commissioner Goodell to take violence against women seriously. Click here to sign the petition.

Violence against women is an obvious, long-term problem facing the NFL.¹ But as high-profile arrests of players for domestic violence and sexual assault continue, the league has done little or nothing. Most players involved in domestic violence incidents have received suspensions of one to three games. Commissioner Roger Goodell has issued longer suspensions for pot smoking, taking Adderall, DUI’s, illegal tattoos, and dogfighting.²

The commissioner has unilateral authority to punish people whose behavior is viewed as “detrimental to the welfare” of the league. But while players who are caught using marijuana or performance enhancing drugs are routinely issued serious punishments of four or more games, the NFL has consistently shied away from meaningful punishments for domestic abuse, sexual assault, and violence against women in general.

What does it tell young men and women about women’s value when players receive harsher punishment for smoking pot than for violence against women? The “boys will be boys” culture that spawned the Steubenville tragedy and many a rape and abuse case in football programs around the country is reinforced by a ruling like this.

When the NFL fails to deal seriously with incidents of violence against women, it sends a message to every league employee and fan that violence against women is OK. Tell Commissioner Goodell it’s time for a change. Click the link below to sign the petition.

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/NFL_women?t=5&akid=11311.5370530.j3BLbi

Thanks for standing up for women.

Heidi Hess, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

1. “Here’s What Happens When an NFL Player Beats His Fiancée Unconscious, Dave Zirin, The Nation, 07/24/2014.
2. “The NFL’s Domestic Violence Problem,”Jane McManus, ESPNW, 07/24/2014.