NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s suspension of Ray Rice from the league on Monday was derided by many as a case of “too little, too late” following Rice’s assault of Janay Palmer. Prominent sports personalities like Keith Olbermann have publicly called for Goodell to resign his post or be fired by NFL owners. On Wednesday, the National Organization for Women, one of the largest women’s rights groups in the United States, have added their voice to that discussion.
National Organization for Women calls for Roger Goodell’s resignation
Claiming that the NFL has “lost its way” in the wake of the Ray Rice assault and suspension, a women’s rights group asks that an independent investigator be appointed.
Bill Hanstock is a writer, author and Emmy Award-winning producer. He began writing for SB Nation in 2011.
In a statement, the National Organization for Women have requested that Goodell surrender his post and yield the position to an independent investigator. The official statement, from the NOW website:
The NFL has lost its way. It doesn't have a Ray Rice problem; it has a violence against women problem.
- According to FiveThirtyEight.com, the relative arrest rate of NFL players is fifty-five percent for domestic violence, and thirty-eight percent for sex offenses.
- Days after announcing his new domestic violence policy, Goodell said Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers, who is facing a felony domestic violence charge, could play in the team's season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
- Greg Hardy is still playing for the Carolina Panthers, even after being convicted in July of choking his former girlfriend and threatening to kill her.
Goodell's response to accusations that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sexually assaulted a woman has been: radio silence.
The only workable solution is for Roger Goodell to resign, and for his successor to appoint an independent investigator with full authority to gather factual data about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking within the NFL community, and to recommend real and lasting reforms.
The NFL sets the example for college, high school, middle school and even elementary school football programs. And the example it is setting right now is simply unacceptable.
New leadership must come in with a specific charge to transform the culture of violence against women that pervades the NFL.
That's the only way to restore honor and integrity to the country's most lucrative and popular pastime.
The statement, as well as the sentiment behind that statement, is yet another part of the dialogue that women have been having in the public sphere following the initial news of the Rice assault back in February. Prominent sports analysts like Michelle Beadle and Katie Nolan have furthered the debate that the NFL needs to undergo substantial change in order to combat the impression that the NFL does not care about women.
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