NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is considering implementing a panel of outside experts to advise the league on whether to place players or other NFL employees on paid leave while their legal situations are pending in the court system.
Goodell distributed the memo to teams leading up to an owners meeting to be conducted Wednesday in New York.
"Is it appropriate to remove someone from the workplace prior to an adjudication?" Goodell wrote in the memo, obtained by The Baltimore Sun. "If so, when? In particular, should we establish a practice of "leave with pay," under which an employee charged with prohibited conduct is put on paid leave status until the charge has been resolved?
"And what should the parameters of such a "leave with pay" status be – should the employee have access to the club facility; should counseling and other interventions be required; should the leave be limited to a certain period of time? What is the process for placing someone on paid leave status? Should these decisions be made by a third party, or a panel of outsiders, or should they be made by the commissioner?"
The NFL will discuss several matters involving the personal-conduct policy at Wednesday's meeting, including how Goodell will operate going forward in determining NFL discipline.
In the memo, Goodell raises the possibility of the NFL doing more to punish teams whose players and employees violate the personal-conduct policy. The NFL is focused heavily on player conduct following high-profile incidents involving former Ravens running back Ray Rice (felony aggravated assault), Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (child abuse allegations) and Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy (domestic violence conviction that's being appealed).
"Over the past two months, we have met with and learned from experts in many fields – domestic violence and sexual assault advocates, educational consultants, law enforcement, the military, current and retired players, as well as leaders in academia and business," Goodell wrote. "Those discussions have underscored the complexity of these issues and it is clear that there is no uniform response that has been adopted by businesses nationally.
"But there is a consensus that a conduct policy should set clear standards, require accountability, and have a fair and understandable process for imposing discipline when necessary. We plan to share some concepts that are evolving from our discussions which need further development and input from you."
Here's the full memo:
FROM: Commissioner Goodell
DATE: October 6, 2014
SUBJECT: Fall League Meeting – Discussion of Personal Conduct Policy
This will provide an outline of the key issues that we plan to discuss with the membership at the Fall League Meeting. In providing this outline, we do not mean to limit the discussion, but instead to offer some information concerning the work done over the last four to six weeks as well as what we have identified as the key issues for discussion and decision in the coming weeks.
Although the league has had policies directed at conduct, including criminal activity, for many years, a series of incidents that occurred in the mid-2000s prompted a reexamination of those policies. Shortly after I became Commissioner, we had a series of meetings with groups of players, and with NFLPA leadership, including the late Gene Upshaw and Troy Vincent, who was then the acting president of the union. Those discussions revealed a very substantial consensus among players and their leadership that a greater level of accountability was needed and that a comprehensive personal conduct policy would serve the interests of the game and its players.