Maura Healey, 5 Other Attorneys General Threaten To Investigate NFL's Treatment Of Women
BOSTON (CBS) – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and 5 other attorneys general have sent a letter to the NFL expressing their "grave concerns" about allegations of "a workplace culture that is overtly hostile to women."
The letter, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, was sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in Manhattan Wednesday.
It threatens to "use the full weight of our authority to investigate and prosecute allegations of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation by employers throughout our states, including at the National Football League."
The letter was also signed by attorneys general from Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington.
The concerns come from a New York Times report in February that cited allegations from more than 30 former NFL employees about a "demoralizing" culture, even though the league had vowed to hire and promote women after the Ray Rice scandal.
"All of this is entirely unacceptable and potentially unlawful. The N.F.L. must do better—pink jerseys are not a replacement for equal treatment and full inclusion of women in the workplace," the attorneys general wrote.
During the "DeflateGate" scandal of 2015, Healey lamented that the NFL was spending more time on deflated footballs than on sexual assault and domestic violence problems that she said were "rampant" in the league.
"Reports of the NFL's treatment of women in the workplace and its callous attitude toward domestic violence is unacceptable," she said in a statement Wednesday. "I join my colleagues in calling on the league to do better."
The Times was the first to obtain the letter.
There has been no comment yet from the NFL.
