NFL and Sexual Assault

Aug 01, 2023

DC 10.10pm / Reno Nevada 7.10pm

After military, now (in) NFL. The N.F.L. has changed its personal conduct policy, expanding the offenses that warrant more serious penalties to include sexual assault “involving threats or coercion” and including “a pattern of conduct” and “offenses that involve planning” as factors that could increase punishment.

These changes come one year after a disciplinary officer cited limitations of the league’s policy in issuing initial discipline to Cleveland Browns quarterback Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995), who was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment by more than two dozen women. The additions would allow the league to make a stronger disciplinary response to players or other employees who engage in behaviors like those Watson was accused of by women who said he purposely touched them with his penis and coerced sexual acts without their consent during massage appointments.

Watson, 27, denied the accusations. He was not charged criminally and has settled 23 of the 26 lawsuits filed against him; one was withdrawn (“in light of privacy and security concerns,” according to a court filing) and two others are still active.

The N.F.L. made the changes, in response to the judgment issued last year by Sue L. Robinson, the retired federal judge who oversaw Watson’s disciplinary hearing, according to three high-ranking league or team officials with direct knowledge of the policy’s revising. They spoke under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

“We annually review our policies and programs with an eye toward continuous improvement based off previous experiences,” Brian McCarthy, an N.F.L. spokesman, said Monday in a statement. The players union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Robinson suspended Watson for six games but wrote in her 16-page decision that the league’s guidelines limited her authority to prescribe a stricter penalty for conduct that she called “predatory” and “egregious.” The N.F.L., which had sought an indefinite ban for Watson, appealed her ruling. The sides then agreed to a settlement in which Watson was suspended for 11 games during the 2022 season, fined $5 million and required to participate in a treatment program.

Robinson was the first third-party disciplinary officer to hear a case since the role was created in the 2020 collective bargaining agreement. She agreed with the league’s contention that Watson had committed multiple violations of the conduct policy, but said its recommendation of a season-long ban overstepped the conduct policy in place at the time.

Robinson in particular pointed to the distinction that the league’s policy — which was rewritten nearly a decade ago, after the league faced backlash over its handling of Ray Rice’s physical assault of his partner — appeared to make between physically violent and nonviolent offenses. In order to issue more severe penalties for what she called nonviolent sexual conduct, Robinson wrote that the league needed to give fair notice to its players.

Previously, the policy prescribed a six-game baseline suspension without pay for first-time offenders who used physical violence, including domestic violence and sexual assault “involving physical force.” Now, sexual assault “involving threats or coercion” has been added to the group of offenses that carry these more serious consequences. A second violation of these offenses would result in banishment from the league.

The revised policy also states that the third-party disciplinary officer who first reviews potential player conduct violations has the discretion to impose stricter penalties on players, including an indefinite suspension, “for other types of prohibited conduct.”

This year’s version of the policy was distributed to N.F.L. players when they reported to training camp last week.

Many state laws now include coercion as a means for an assault, including those in Texas, where most of the accusations against Watson were made, as do the player conduct policies for M.L.B. and the N.B.A. The #MeToo movement spurred a greater awareness of the power and control dynamics that can create nonphysical pressure to submit to a sexual act, experts said.

“Sexual assault is not always paired with physical violence, especially when it comes from someone who has a lot of power and prestige and money,” said Juan Carlos Areán, a program director for the nonprofit organization Futures Without Violence. “They can use all of those things to abuse someone else, sexually or otherwise.”

Many of the women who made claims against Watson described being scared or intimidated because of either his physical stature or the impact he could have on their business as a high-profile client. The league wrote in its brief to Robinson last summer that its investigation showed that Watson “used his status as an N.F.L. player as a pretext to engage in a premeditated pattern of predatory behavior toward multiple women.”

Naming specific behaviors, such as coercion, in a conduct policy can play an important role both in breaking down misconceptions of what sexual violence looks like and in helping people understand the range of behaviors that can be harmful, said Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who has studied sexual violence prevention.

“Given that the majority of sexual abuse does not end up being prosecuted in a legal context, having institutional or employment-based consequences that are more broad to deal with inappropriate sexual behaviors is a positive thing,” Jeglic said. She added: “The more that we are aware, the more we are going to hopefully prevent this from happening in the first place.”

During the N.F.L. off-season, league office staff worked to revise the conduct policy in consultation with Todd Jones, special counsel for conduct, and Lisa Friel, special counsel for investigations. The changes were then approved by the league’s conduct committee, of which Dee Haslam, a Browns co-owner, is a member, and were issued as part of the player handbook.

The N.F.L. did not have to negotiate these changes with the players’ union because the labor deal and the N.F.L. constitution give the league commissioner, Roger Goodell, the authority to define and penalize conduct detrimental to the league. The conduct policy for league employees and other club employees, which was released separately, mirrored the changes.

Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) will pay US$60 million to the NFL after an independent investigation confirmed he sexually harassed an employee and that the Commanders withheld revenue from the NFL, the league announced (July 23, 2023)

The attorneys representing the two former Commanders employees whose allegations prompted the investigation called it a “a day to celebrate.” But in a statement, they asked “why, after being repeatedly made aware of the numerous allegations against Mr. Snyder – through our clients’ testimony, the Beth Wilkinson investigation and a Congressional investigation – the NFL and Roger Goodell allowed him to retain ownership, buried the findings of its own investigation and most importantly, helped him hide and avoid accountability.”

Former U.S. Attorney and SEC Chair Mary Jo White conducted the 17-month investigation. White and her team interviewed dozens of witnesses, reviewed over 10,000 documents, and brought assistance from a team of forensic accountants.

In 2022, Tiffani Johnston testified about two incidents to the House Oversight Committee investigating workplace culture allegations. In the first incident, she said Snyder placed his hand on her thigh during a work dinner and tried to push her to his car when leaving the same event.

Snyder denied Johnston’s allegations, but the evidence supports that Johnston was touched non-consensually at the work dinner and pushed towards the back seat of Snyder’s car.

In the other incident, she said a former senior executive got an unedited photo revealing her “personal areas” at the direction of Snyder to look at and share with him.

The senior executive had entered the room where supervisors of the cheerleading program were editing photos for a calendar. He noticed where post-it notes were being used to cover up areas that required editing to cover up “inadvertent exposure,” according to the report. He asked to see the photo and was told no, but returned and took it during the employees’ lunch break.

While evidence did not show Snyder was involved in the photo incident, the report confirmed a former executive-level employee did obtain and view the unedited calendar photo of her.

“The conduct substantiated in Ms. White’s findings has no place in the NFL,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release. “We strive for workplaces that are safe, respectful, and professional. What Ms. Johnston experienced is inappropriate and contrary to the NFL’s values.”

The investigation didn’t end there. Another former employee, Jason Friedman, corroborated Johnston’s account. He also testified that for a number of years, the Commanders had repeatedly and deliberately omitted NFL ticket sales revenue from reports that were sent to the NFL.

“The Investigation specifically identified approximately $11 million in revenues (including those in the Jason Friedman allegations) that the Club appears to have improperly shielded from sharing, to the extent required by NFL policies,” according to the report. The amount may have been higher, but the Commanders did not provide adequate accounting records and supporting documentation for all finances in question, according to the report. The team said it was “inappropriate” for them to bear the burden of justifying their transactions.

Friedman also said that for more than a decade, some Commanders’ senior executives pushed employees to retain customers’ security deposits for multi-year club and suite seat leases. This is a direct violation of contractual obligations to return security deposits upon the leases’ expiration, according to the report.

The evidence confirmed that the Commanders franchise knowingly and intentionally violated NFL policies, but investigators were unable to find – or rule out – Snyder’s involvement.

“At a minimum, [Snyder] was aware of certain efforts to minimize revenue sharing, at least some of which were later found to be in violation of the NFL rules” the report says. “He also set a tone at the top that pressured employees to cut costs and improve the financial performance of the Club.”

Back in April, the Commanders ended up paying the D.C. government and ticket holders $625,000 for the security deposit issue. The Commanders told investigators that as of July 17, the franchise still held $1.9 million in security deposits related to inactive accounts and is working to address the issue.

Throughout the investigation, Snyder and the Commanders publicly agreed to cooperate.

“Despite that pledge, Mr. Snyder and the Club failed to cooperate,” the report stated. “Mr. Snyder, for nearly a year, refused to be interviewed and, when he did finally agree to an interview, he declared that it would be limited to one hour.”

The findings were released immediately after NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the Commanders to Josh Harris — owner of the NBA’s 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils – and his investment group. The fine is a drop in the bucket compared to the deal and Snyder’s $4.6 billion net worth. It represents only 1% of the $6.05 billion sale price. However, this is a record-setting fine, beating the last record of $10 million – also for Snyder and the Commanders team. The NFL has not yet disclosed how the $60 million will be used.

Snyder has been a dark cloud for fans as they’ve endured 24 years of lawsuits and a losing team. But the sale closed, and fans hope for a brighter future with less controversy and more victories.

In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid, or can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.

==========END————

Thank you, as always, for reading. If you have anything like a spark file, or master thought list (spark file sounds so much cooler), let me know how you use it in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it.

If a friend sent this to you, you could subscribe here 👇. All content is free, and paid subscriptions are voluntary.

Prada’s Newsletter

Ready for more?