With the NFL introducing a new a personal conduct policy last week, the issues involving players' actions have been at the forefront for the league.
Rita Smith, senior adviser for the NFL and formerly the executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, wrote for The Huffington Post about the league's new guidelines and how it serves as a step in the right direction in rights for women.
She said these actions show that the NFL is taking the issue seriously. She was impressed by the protocol created by the league, calling it " not only tough, but also allows for all the complexities -- including intense safety and financial fears -- that make draconian, cookie-cutter, one-strike-and-you're-out responses to this violence seem appropriate, while they are in fact often counterproductive to reporting and physically dangerous to those being abused."
Smith pointed out that efforts to change the culture not only among players, but all league employees. And she said the NFL's policy is stronger than the guidelines at the majority of workplaces in the country.
-- Bill Bradley, contributing editor