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A16 sports
Thursday 7 april 2022
Attorneys General warn NFL to improve treatment of women
NEW YORK (AP) — The at- attorneys general of Illinois, wrote. "Our offices will use
torneys general of six states Massachusetts, Minnesota, the full weight of our au-
have written to NFL Com- Oregon and Washington thority to investigate and
missioner Roger Goodell , State. The New York Times prosecute allegations of
expressing concern over first reported the letter be- harassment, discrimination,
the league's treatment of ing sent. or retaliation by employ-
female employees and That letter also cited a ers throughout our states,
admonishing him for a lack Times article that included including at the National
of improvement to the allegations from more than Football League."
league's workplace cul- 30 former NFL employ- In an email response to
ture. ees who said they experi- The Associated Press, NFL
Without improvement, the enced problems, including spokesman Brian McCarthy
attorneys general warned unwanted touching from said: "We share the com-
of potential legal action. male bosses; attending mitment of the attorneys
The letter outlines concerns parties where prostitutes general to ensuring that all
of gender discrimination were hired; being passed of our workplaces - includ-
ranging from the NFL's treat- over for promotions based ing the league office and
ment of women who have on their gender; and being 32 clubs - are diverse, inclu-
experienced domestic NFL CommissionerRoger Goodell answers questions from re- pushed out for complain- sive and free from discrimi-
porters, at a press conference after the close of the NFL own-
violence to the hiring and er's meeting, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at The Breakers resort in ing about discrimination. nation and harassment. We
promotion of women in NFL Palm Beach, Fla. "The NFL must do better— have made great strides
offices. It comes as Con- Associated Press pink jerseys are not a re- over the years in support
gress investigates how the placement for equal treat- of that commitment, but
league has handled claims ton Commanders. ney general of New York, ment and full inclusion of acknowledge that we, like
of sexual harassment in the The letter was signed by where the league is head- women in the workplace," many organizations, have
front office of the Washing- Letitia James, the attor- quartered, as well as the the attorneys generals more work to do. We look
forward to sharing with the
attorneys general the poli-
cies, practices, protocols,
education programs and
partnerships we have im-
plemented to act on this
commitment and confirm
that the league office and
our clubs maintain a re-
spectful workplace where
all our employees, includ-
ing women, have an op-
portunity to thrive."
McCarthy pointed out such
ongoing league programs
as a comprehensive em-
ployee training initiative
through partnerships with
organizations such as RISE,
GLAAD, Paradigm, and The
Winters Group; and Internal
Affinity Groups, in which
employees can interact,
learn and support each
other within smaller com-
munities like BEN (Black En-
gagement Network), PIN
(Parents Initiative Network)
and WIN (Women's Interac-
tive Network).
Last month, the NFL
changed what is known
as the "Rooney Rule," de-
signed to ensure more op-
portunities for women and
racial minorities. Beginning
this season, all 32 clubs
must employ a female or a
member of an ethnic or ra-
cial minority to serve as an
offensive assistant coach.
The person will receive a
one-year contract and
work closely with the head
coach and offensive staff
to gain experience.q
