Ron HartThe NFL and its contrite commissioner, Roger Goodell, are in full damage-control mode for the way they handled the Ray Rice domestic abuse case.
Goodell will survive this scandal. He admitted errors and will hire PR firms, probably one where a U.S. senator’s kids (like him) work and spend some of the NFL’s tax-free money for public service announcements on domestic violence. I presume the league will come out against it.
He has also formed “a committee” to study the league’s personal conduct policy. We all know how well those work. Perhaps Oscar Pistorius and Ray Lewis will be appointed as co-chairs. Committees buy time, and time is all you need in this Attention Deficit Disordered news cycle to get past this scandal.
It was only under pressure from its $200-million-a-year sponsor Anheuser-Busch that the NFL attempted to do anything morally righteous. It is a sad day when a booze purveyor has to stake out the moral high ground for you.
This is a bit of a comeuppance for Goodell. According to its advertisers, the NFL is difficult to deal with. That’s the nature of a monopoly. Where else can Budweiser take its advertising business to reach the target audience of 18-to-34-year-old men?