Roger Goodell is getting it from all sides since the Ray Rice poop hit the fan early Monday morning, and now even the House of Representatives is getting in on the act.
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Twelve members of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to commissioner Goodell expressing concerns about the way the Ray Rice investigation was handled and demanding transparency from the NFL in how they deal with domestic violence issues.
The letter reads in part (via USA Today):
"With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act, we all recognize that this issue requires strengthened and sustained efforts by individuals, organizations, and government. Of course, we are particularly concerned about information that has come to light about the perpetration of domestic violence by one of the NFL’s players, Ray Rice, against his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, in an elevator at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 15, 2014.Given the important role the NFL and the other major professional sports leagues can play in shaping public perceptions concerning domestic violence, it would appear to be in the public interest to have the highest level of transparency associated with reviews of potential misconduct."
The letter concludes:
"We welcome your recent willingness to change the NFL’s policies regarding issues of domestic violence, and we also believe other major professional sports leagues should consider making their policies public and reviews transparent as well. We look forward to working with you and all of the major professional sports leagues so that we can all participate in the effort to reduce incidents of domestic violence, increase transparency in their review, and better respond to those cases that unfortunately do occur."
Just like everyone else, Congress is concerned that the NFL didn’t do its due diligence in investigating the Rice situation. Unlike everyone else, Congress has the power to make your life miserable if you don’t comply with its calls for transparency.
Roger Goodell may think he stands above any known earthly authority, but he’s still not above Congress. Yet.