Opinion: The NFL personal conduct rules aren’t effective

The National Football League has been plagued with players being accused of domestic violence. One of the most famous cases came when the NFL suspended Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice when he was charged with domestic violence after knocking his then fiancée (now wife) unconscious in an elevator during an altercation in a New Jersey casino. 

Yet another recent, horrendous incident has put another NFL player, and the league as a whole, in the spotlight after a video was released Nov. 30 of Kareem Hunt knocking a woman down and kicking her in a hotel. As a result, Hunt was cut from the Kansas City Chiefs in early December and suspended from the NFL.

Hunt has been given a second chance by the Cleveland Browns, who signed the running back to a one-year deal Feb. 11.

Even more recently, the league announced Feb. 6 they would be investigating wide receiver Antonio Brown because of an alleged domestic violence incident, according to CBS Sports.

When the Hunt incident first occurred, both the NFL and the team were reportedly unable to get their hands on the footage they needed to conduct an investigation, according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. It then raised a few eyebrows when a celebrity website, TMZ, obtained a copy of the very video that seemingly eluded the NFL. It was only after the video’s release that the league actually decided to dole out punishment to Hunt. 

Apparently, the NFL has had problems with its investigations and rules for years. Deborah Epstein is a professor of law and co-director of the Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic. Years ago, Epstein joined the NFL Players Association’s commission on domestic violence. This commission was formed to recommend steps the league could take as a part of the NFL’s belated effort to take charge of the plague of domestic violence in the league. This association seemed to start because of the incident involving Rice. 

“My NFLPA contacts would initially greet these ideas with a burst of enthusiasm and an indication of likely implementation,” Epstein wrote for the Washington Post. “But efforts to follow up would yield nothing in the way of specific plans, and eventually, communication would fade into
radio silence.” 

All the while, she would see allegation after allegation of NFL players committing acts of domestic violence. One spring, Epstein saw at least half a dozen new players invited to join NFL teams, even though they were currently facing outstanding court cases involving physical or sexual assaults. 

After years at the NFLPA, Epstein was forced to accept a suspicion she had from the day she accepted her position, that the NFL was only paying lip service so that it could claim it was confronting the problem of domestic violence, just long enough for the Rice story to fall out of the spotlight. 

“The NFL Players Association is no longer interested in even making a public show of concern about violence against woman,” Epstein said. “A point driven home more forcefully during each new NFL season.”

Currently, the league’s policy states that a first-time offender faces a six-game suspension, but in many cases, those are repealed and reduced. In the wake of the Hunt investigation, many media personalities called for stricter punishments for offender. Molly Qerim, host of ESPN’s First Take, called for a full-year suspension for a first offense and a lifetime ban for any
subsequent offense.

This would be a good step for the league to take. It would show that the league takes domestic violence seriously, but still gives a second chance for an athlete who shows they are repentant and seeking to improve themselves.

These football players are just like any other men and should be punished in full by the government and the league for their crimes, no matter how much money they make.