NFL Considering Increased Penalties For Domestic Violence

Hearing the backlash to the Ray Rice suspension, the NFL has reportedly had internal discussions about increasing the penalties for future cases of domestic violence. According to the Washington Post, the league has discussed a suspension of four to six game for a first offense and a potential year-long suspension for a second offense.

"We need to have stricter penalties," said one person with knowledge of the league's deliberations on the matter. "I think you will see that. I believe the commissioner and others would like to see stricter penalties. We need to be more vigilant."

That person said Goodell and the league "tried to stick with precedent" from previous NFL disciplinary measures when deciding on the length of Rice's suspension.

"A lot of us were disturbed by what we saw" in the Rice case, the person said. "I think you will see something in probably the next few weeks. A first offense could be four to six games, definitely more than two. A second offense might be a year."

Goodell, you'll recall defended the two-game suspension as consistent with precedent (while distinguishing from unhelpful precedent), so this is at least progress. Talks appear to be of the extremely preliminary variety; a second source told WaPo it wasn't clear if or when a new policy would be enacted. The NFLPA was not a party to the discussions, either.

NFL considering tougher penalties for future domestic violence cases, including possible one-year ban [WaPo]