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New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday sent the letter sent by her office and signed by five of her colleagues to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Although the letter is barely more than a page, it is powerful.
The letter expresses “serious concern” about allegations by former NFL employees, the New York Times reported on Feb. 8. The letter primarily focuses on women and minority members of the NFL itself, either the league office or the NFL Network, which the league owns.
This paragraph deserves careful consideration: “We all watched in horror in 2014 when the video of Ray Rice hitting, KOing and spitting on his fiancé was released. After that, you pledged to take gender-based violence seriously and to improve the institutional culture for women in the NFL. These recent allegations suggest you didn’t. Female employees reported being repeatedly viewed the Rice video, with comments from colleagues that the victim committed the violence on herself. Other women reported that in a training aimed at increasing awareness on the issue, they were asked to raise their hand to identify themselves if they were victims of domestic violence or knew someone who was a victim of had become domestic violence. There is NO better way. Antidiscrimination laws in many states, including New York, prohibit employers from subjecting victims of domestic violence, women, and people of color to a hostile work environment.”
If these things are true, it’s a terrifying sight for the league.
The letter also notes that female employees believe they have been “held back and criticize having an ‘aggressive tone’ – an often unfair stereotype of women, particularly women of color, trying to function in a male-dominated workplace to move forward”.
Then there is this line, which goes beyond the claims of NFL employees and includes some of the allegations against the Washington Commanders: “Other women described experience unwanted touching by male bosses, attended parties where prostitutes were hired, were passed over or promoted.” gender and urge people to make complaints about discrimination.” The letter also notes that some former female employees have learned “that there was no record of their complaints of gender discrimination”.
The letter concludes with a paragraph that reads not like an invitation to dialogue, but rather a threat/promise: “All of this is totally unacceptable and potentially unlawful. The NFL Must Do Better – Pink jerseys are not a substitute for equal treatment and full inclusion of women in the workplace. Our offices will use the full weight of our authority to investigate and prosecute allegations of harassment, discrimination or retaliation by employers in any state, including the National Football League.”
The NFL should be very concerned about this. It shows that Congress isn’t the only public body the league should be concerned with. Prosecutors have broad powers and discretion. They can initiate aggressive and thorough investigations and exercise the kind of outside authority and oversight that the NFL despises.
In many ways it is overdue. And please spare me the “why do you hate the league you live by?” nonsense. I love the NFL. And I want it to strive to be better than it was. So if current league office stewards or any of the teams are falling short of the standard that is routinely applied aggressively to players, this should be investigated, uncovered and corrected.