Roger Goodell Press Conference Live Blog: Commissioner Promises Change
4 p.m.: The press conference has concluded. Goodell mostly avoided answering anything in specifics, instead repeating the need for accountability and the desire for the league to be better in dealing with cases of domestic violence. He said that he hopes for the league to establish a conduct committee before the Super Bowl in February, and he said the league will re-evaluate everything about its process of handling players who are accused of crimes.
Goodell said he believes he has the full support of the owners, and also that the league awaits to hear the findings of Robert Muller's investigation into the handling of the Ray Rice situation. Goodell stressed that he still believes that nobody in the league office saw the elevator footage, despite the voicemail of an NFL employee confirming receipt of the video, which was played for the AP. A TMZ representative at the press conference said that it only took one phone call to acquire the footage from inside the elevator.
The commissioner answered most questions by referencing his letter to teams on August 28th, which said he did not live up to the right standard with the Ray Rice situation and that the plan is to change the process immediately.
3:58 p.m.: What about Greg Hardy?
"When do we engage? There was a conviction and then it's removed until the jury trial. Should we let that go all the way through?"
3:57 p.m.: Does the NFL regret having Janay Rice in the same room with Ray Rice?
Goodell says the league learned that it wasn't the right way to handle that.
3:55 p.m.: Goodell said the league has always been "completely reliant" on law enforcement to obtain information. "We have to be very cautious of not interfering with a criminal investigation." The league is now going to look into whether that's the right way to go about the process.
3:51 p.m.: Why was the police report not enough to administer a stronger discipline on Ray Rice in the first place, even without the elevator footage?
Goodell did not answer. He simply said that the initial ruling was not enough.
"That's why three weeks later, we raised that standard," Goodell said.
3:50 p.m.: A screaming man was just carried away by security. He was screaming, "Please don't make me go in an elevator!" while being removed from the room. (According to unconfirmed reports on Twitter, the man was part of the Howard Stern radio program.)
3:49 p.m.: Were any women advising Goodell when administering Ray Rice discipline?
"We didn't have the right voices at the table," he said. "We need to get better expertise."
3:47 p.m.: Personal conduct committee -- what will be completed by the Super Bowl?
"We want to get to work immediately," he said. The conduct committee will not be forming the personal conduct policy. Instead, it will "bring experts and their views on this on how we can improve the policy."
He expects to have the committee in place in time for the Super Bowl.
3:45 p.m.: How many difficult conversations have you had with business partners?
"It starts with what I just mentioned before, I'm disappointed in myself. I disappointed the NFL, I disappointed our fans, our partners. We need to do better. I made that clear on August 28th to our ownership. I've made it clear since. I made it clear to sponsors directly that we are going to do better in this area. There are things that we need to clean up in our house and make it right, and we will, and we will make it right in this area."
3:44 p.m.: "We want to exceed every standard we set."
3:43 p.m.: Do you still believe that nobody in the NFL office had seen the Ray Rice video before TMZ released it?
Yes.
Do you believe you have the support of the owners?
Yes. "They obviously expect us to do a better job. I don't like to let down anybody -- myself, it starts with myself, I hold myself to the highest possible standards."
3:40 p.m.: Why was the initial Ray Rice punishment so light?
Goodell said the league let its policies slack. "What we need to do is go back and say OK, we're in a different age now with different issue and different challenges, let's go back and try to figure out how to do that a new way."
He said the goal is to gain more consistency.
3:39 p.m.: Asked about the voicemail reported by the AP, how do you explain that?
"That's exactly why I mentioned that we hired Robert Muller," he said, saying right now he does not know where that investigation is.
3:38 p.m.: If the 32 owners took a vote on whether you should keep your job, what do you think the result would be?
Goodell said that's a hypothetical, so he can't answer it.
3:36 p.m.: What exactly did Ray Rice tell you happened in the elevator? How did it differ from the video?
"First off, as I said, we got new information from the first time we met with him until my initial discipline, which three weeks later I acknowledged it was not sufficient. ... It was inconsistent with the way he described what happened."
What did he say?
"The one issue with this is this is now a matter of appeal," Goodell said, passing on further comment.
What about transparency?
"I'm telling you right now that it's inconsistent with what he told us," he said.
3:35 p.m.: You mentioned due process, but right now there's a lot of inconsistency. ... How do you plan to handle the slippery slope?
"You're highlighting exactly the point. We need to change our policies and our procedures and we need to get some help in identifying how to do that. We have laws that differ state to state, and even locally. We need to look at when the NFL should be involved in the process."
3:33 p.m.: Why do you feel you deserve to remain in this role?
Goodell said because he made a statement on August 28 that said the league made a mistake and needs to do better.
3:32 p.m.: Have you considered resigning?
"I have not. I'm more focused on doing my job and doing it to the best of my ability."
3:31 p.m.: Goodell was asked what he'd tell a mother who doesn't know how to tell her sons what Adrian Peterson did wrong.
Goodell called the Peterson situation tragic, while he wants to allow the situation to proceed.
Goodell said parents can teach their children lessons on accountability for mistakes.
"When you make a mistake be accountable for it."
3:28 p.m.: Second question -- you've had unilateral power in making decisions, how willing are you to give up some of that power?
Goodell said that everything is on the table. He did not answer definitively yes or no. He said they want outside experts to offer their perspective.
Follow-up question: Atlantic City records indicate the NFL never requested the Ray Rice elevator.
"Certainly our security department works with law enforcement. They are fully cooperative. We gather almost entirely all of our information through law enforcement. That's something else we're going to look at."
Goodell said the league is going to look at whether it should gather all of its information via law enforcement.
"We asked for it on several occasions," he said of the tape. "I'm confident that our people did that."
3:27 p.m.: First question -- if any of the victims were someone you loved, would you be satisfied with the league's handling of the issues?
"I'm not satisfied with he process that we went to. I'm not satisfied with the conclusions. And that's why we came out last month and said we're going to make changes to our policies. ... We said we're going to do better going forward."
"I let myself down. I let everyone else down. And for that, I'm sorry."
3:26 p.m.: Goodell is establishing a conduct committee to "ensure that we are always living with the best practices."
"I believe in accountability. I understand the challenges before me, and I will be held accountable for meeting them."
3:25 p.m.: Goodell said his goal is to complete the personal conduct policy by the Super Bowl.
3:24 p.m.: Goodell said he'll work with NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith to help with the domestic violence issue. Balancing due process rights will be a chief task.
3:23 p.m.: "Domestic violence, including child abuse, sexual assault, irresponsible ownership or illegal firearms, the illegal use of alcohol or drugs. These must be condemned and stopped through education and discipline."
Goodell said the league's measures for discipline must be clear.
"These are very complex issues. Our country has a legal system that everyone needs to respect."
Goodell said the league needs to consider when to act and on what evidence, saying, "Everyone deserves a fair process."
3:20 p.m.: Goodell announces that the NFL has entered into partnerships with the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
3:19 p.m.: Goodell said that the league will now hold education courses for all teams.
3:18 p.m.: Goodell says that he very much looks forward to Muller's investigation into how the NFL handled the Ray Rice case.
"We will get our house in order first."
"Second, and most importantly, these incidents demonstrate that we can use the NFL to help create change -- not only in our league but in society, with respect to domestic violence and sexual assault."
3:17 p.m.: Goodell: "At our best, the NFL sets an example that makes a positive difference. Unfortunately, over the past several weeks, we have seen all too much of the NFL doing wrong. That starts with me. I've said this before back on August 28, and I say it again, I got it wrong in the handling of the Ray Rice matter and I'm sorry for that."
Goodell said he got it wrong on a number of levels, from the process to the decision.
"But now I will get it right and do whatever is necessary to accomplish that."
Goodell said he doesn't expect anyone to simply take him at his word.
3:15 p.m.: Goodell is now expected to speak within the next two minutes.
3:12 p.m.: Goodell is now 12 minutes late to his press conference.
3:08 p.m.: There was apparently some delay for Goodell, as he's yet to take the podium.
2:59 p.m.: Minutes away now from Goodell speaking...
1:30 p.m.: It's been a bad couple of weeks for the National Football League, and on Friday afternoon, the commissioner is going to address the issues the league has encountered as well as take questions from the media.
Goodell will speak in New York at 3 p.m. His press conference will air live on WBZ-TV Channel 4 as well as on 98.5 The Sports Hub. We'll also be providing live updates right here in the live blog.
The league and Goodell have come under fire for the handling of several domestic violence cases -- Ray Rice's and Greg Hardy's chief among them. Adrian Peterson also was placed on the Exempt/Commissioner's Permission List after admitting to authorities that he injured his 4-year-old son while administering discipline. Also this week, Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer was arrested on domestic violence charges.
While the Vikings, Cardinals and the league were quicker to act in the most recent cases with Peterson and Dwyer, the initial two-game suspension to Rice drew heavy criticism. That dissent boiled to an outrage after TMZ released security camera footage of Rice delivering a punch to his then-fiancee, and the Ravens then released Rice before Goodell issued an indefinite suspension to the running back.
Meanwhile in Carolina, Hardy played in Week 1 despite being convicted of domestic violence by a North Carolina judge over the summer. Hardy appealed the ruling and will face a jury trial in November, and the Panthers allowed him to play in Week 1. The Rice situation brought domestic violence to the forefront of the NFL, leading to calls for Hardy to face a similar punishment. The Panthers held Hardy out of their game in Week 2 and he announced this week that he'll be taking a leave of absence from football.
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