Roger Goodell Finally Breaks His Silence: 'I Got It Wrong'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- After nine days of silence, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell finally addressed the media on Friday afternoon in New York. Goodell, has been harshly criticized by the public for his handling of recent domestic abuse cases, most notably the Ray Rice case.
"I got it wrong in the handling of the Ray Rice matter, and I'm sorry for that," Goodell said. "For our part, we can add and we will do more. We strongly, strongly condemn and will punish behavior that is totally unacceptable."
Goodell also said he still believes that no one at the NFL saw the second Ray Rice video before TMZ released it.
"I am not satisfied with the way we handled it from the get-go," said Goodell. "I made a mistake."
Goodell says changes will be made.
"As I said in my statement, everything is on the table," Goodell said when asked if his responsibility will be reduced. "We are going to look at the process on how we gather information. All of that is on the table and we will see if there is a better way to do it. We can't continue to operate like this."
Goodell, although he acknowledges his mistake, is committed to doing his job.
"I have not," Goodell said when asked if he considered resigning. "I am focused on doing my job and doing it to the best of my abilities. I understand when people are criticial, but we have a lot of work to do. But I am proud of the oppirtunity that we have to try to make a difference here and do the right thing."
Goodell also talked about the Adrian Peterson child abuse case.
"We have a lot of young men who play or coach and they make mistakes," Goodell said. "While I'm disappointed in what Adrian Peterson was involved with, we want to see the facts. But what we see is tragic. I have two daughters and its very hard to see. We are very hard on our kids, when you make a mistake."
The press conference came hours after Goodell sent a memo to all 32 teams on Friday morning, explaining some of the initiatives that the league will take to help organizations devoted to assisting victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
The league will provide financial, operational and promotional support to the: National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 and
National Sexual Violence Resource Center 1-877-739-3895.
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