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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Ted S. Warren
Changes

NFL hands senior roles to domestic violence experts after latest controversies

The advisors will help shape policies relating to domestic violence and sexual assault.

EMBATTLED NFL COMMISSIONER Roger Goodell have announced that the league was hiring three domestic violence experts as senior advisors and creating a new vice president of social responsibility post.

The moves come after a nightmare week for the world’s richest sports league as American football stars were in the news for such domestic violence issues as punching a fiancee and injuring a child.

In a memo to club executives posted Monday on the league’s website, Goodell announced the hiring of Lisa Fiel, Jane Rane Randel and Rita Smith “to help lead and shape the NFL’s policies and programs relating to domestic violence and sexual assault.”

“Each brings special knowledge and experience in these issues and will ensure that our efforts reflect the professionalism that should characterize everything the NFL does,” Goodell said.

He also announced that Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s vice president of community affairs and philanthropy, would assume an expanded new role as vice president of social responsibility.

“Anna has been leading our internal work relating to how we address issues of domestic violence and related social issues,” Goodell said. “In this new role, she will oversee the development of the full range of education, training and support programs relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, and matters of respect.

Our entire office will be accountable for the success of these efforts and Anna and her team will have my full support.”

Goodell said her goal would be to implement those programs as quickly as possible, a major goal in the wake of a video released a week ago showing now-suspended rusher Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancee in an elevator.

Also last week, Minnesota star rusher Adrian Peterson was charged with negligent or reckless injury of a child for having beaten his four-year-old son with a branch so hard that cuts remained days later.

Friel led the sex crimes prosecution unit for the New York district attorney’s office for more than a decade, investigating and prosecuting cases of sex assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence and human trafficking.

Smith is a former executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence while Randel is co-founder of No More, a national initiative to raise the profile of the problems of domestic violence and sexual assault.

The hirings blunt criticism that the NFL lacked staff with experience in matters of domestic violence in evaluating such high-profile cases as have taken place in recent months.

Goodell admitted last month he made a mistake when he gave Rice only a two-game ban, one he toughened to an indefinite suspension only after the video of Rice punching his now-wife went public, and toughened NFL domestic violence penalties to six games for a first violation and a possible life ban for repeat offenders.

- New hires will educate, analyse -

Goodell said Friel will emphasize the evaluation process of alleged domestic violence and sexual assault and advise the NFL staff on violations of law and disciplinary matters.

Smith and Randel will focus upon overseeing the creation and implementing of the NFL domestic violence and sex assault workplace policy and launch education programs for all NFL team employees.

Politico reported Monday that the NFL has been seeking a new director for its Washington office to help win back credibility with political leaders, several of whom called for more information from Goodell on how he handled the Rice situation. It named Cynthia Hogan, a former counsel to US Vice President Joe Biden, as a lead candidate for the job.

“We are continuing to develop our organization to strengthen our ability to address the wide range of issues we face and other changes in our office will be announced soon,” Goodell said.

“Our goal is to make a real difference on these and other issues. We know that we will be judged by our actions and their effectiveness.”

- © AFP, 2014

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