The sporting world has been blown away by the series of allegations, legal troubles, and apologies by the NFL, its players, and staff over the next few weeks. The Ray Rice scandal, the Adrian Peterson allegations, several other players being involved with domestic altercations, and the way the NFL has handled them have all made for a lot of bad pub and worse feelings for the fans and the league. Some people are calling for heads to roll. They want people fired, namely the Commissioner Roger Goodell and the players who have committed these alleged infractions. Due to backlash and scrutiny, the league and teams have all made good and at least taken the players off the playing fields and active rosters. But what will satisfy fans, rights groups, or advertisers? Will contrition and self-imposed penalties do the trick?
The Commissioner made a press conference where he read an apology for his actions in handling the Ray Rice scandal. Most observers made a point to say that the Commissioner on behalf of the NFL dodged most or all direct questions and did not really tell us anything we didn't already know. An apology like that as students of apologetic ethics might tell you, really could do more to hurt the person than help them. Goodell looks like a guilty man trying to earn himself breathing room while hiding behind the legal process knowing that he had to make a comment.
In my opinion, the NFL has not done nearly enough to make this right. They announced like always that they will be forming a committee to work on domestic issues and player conduct that is made up of mostly women. How novel. They announced stiffer penalties for domestic violence convictions (6 games for 1st offense, lifetime ban for 2nd). But the real damage may already have been done. How can sponsors trust the NFL as a brand or a partner if their employees are engaging in illegal, immoral behavior? Some sponsors have already stopped their partnership with specific teams or as a whole. But for the long-term health of the league, how can they be trustworthy to not make more mistakes that sully their reputation? Really, they best answer is to bring in someone who can act as a disciplinarian Commissioner or Director of Player Conduct to take the reigns from Goodell. Goodell has been a great CEO for the NFL if you will, but his record with discipline is spotty. Too harsh sometimes, not harsh enough other times. If you bring in someone with some knowhow and football background (say a revered old coach) I think you would increase the chan ces of positive stories outweighing negative ones.