NFL Examines Its Record on Hiring of Women in Wake of Ray Rice Case

When N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked last week whether any women helped him decide to suspend the former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice two games for punching his then-fiancée, he sheepishly said no.

'You're pointing out exactly what we're concerned about, that we didn't have the right voices at the table,' he told the reporter. 'We need to get better expertise.'

Steve Bisciotti, the owners of the Ravens, was asked a similar question this week: Were any women involved in his decision to cut Rice and terminate his contract? The answer was similar.

'Unfortunately, we don't have a female president, G.M. or coach,' Bisciotti said.

Goodell and Bisciotti were acknowledging what outside experts and even some who have worked for the N.F.L. have known for years: that the league and its 32 teams have done a poor job hiring women, a deficiency that was laid bare by Rice's suspension.

'Until they hired a raft of consultants and promoted the woman in charge of social responsibility, it was a bunch of guys in a room,' said Jodi Balsam, a former lawyer at the N.F.L. who now teaches at Brooklyn Law School. 'They didn't have any expertise on the pathology of domestic violence. It's not that they had bad intentions or were purposely overlooking things because they were motivated to downplay anything that would hurt the league. But they were shortsighted in not having someone in the room to help them understand the pathology.'

The authors of the N.F.L. Racial and Gender Report Card released last week by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports gave the league a C-minus for gender hiring practices - the worst record of any big sports league - while teams were given a failing grade.

In the wake of the release of graphic footage showing Rice's knockout punch, Goodell has strengthened the league's domestic violence policies, including hiring more women to key positions. Three experts will now advise the commissioner, a vice president was promoted to oversee social responsibility efforts, and women were picked as chief of government affairs and chief marketing officer.

'Diversity across race and gender at the league office continues to increase, and we are always looking to evolve and improve,' said Robert Gulliver, executive vice president of human resources at the N.F.L. 'We remain committed to diversity and inclusion and our focus on being an organization that benefits from different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.'

The new female executives, who join 21 other women who are vice president or above, should provide Goodell with a more diverse set of views, but Richard Lapchick, the author of the report, said that meaningful change will take years and only if extensive and mandatory training is introduced for players and team and league officials.

That is because the top positions of the league and teams are dominated by men, and change comes slowly because turnover is low for many of these jobs.

'It's not just about changing the numbers, but about changing the culture,' Lapchick said.

The culture of the N.F.L. is under intense scrutiny these days. Women's groups, advocates for victims of domestic violence, politicians and players have criticized Goodell and the league for being insensitive to the gravity of domestic violence and out of touch with issues that women care about.

Some senators have suggested that Goodell be called to Washington to answer for the league's handling of domestic violence. Activists have called for boycotts and major sponsors including Anheuser-Busch and PepsiCo have said they were uneasy with the league's policies.

'They want people to watch the game, right?' Jason Babin, a Jets linebacker, said about the N.F.L. 'If they let things go that are not socially acceptable, people are going to get turned off.'

The stakes are high. By the league's own reckoning, women make up 45 percent of the N.F.L.'s fans, though men are far more likely to be 'avid' fans, and 35 percent of viewers who watch N.F.L. games on television are women, according to Nielsen. Sales of women's apparel has grown by double digits the past five years even as growth of other licensed merchandise slowed.

A poll by the University of North Florida found that 25 percent of women said the league's handling of the Rice episode 'would discourage them from not only attending N.F.L. games but also from the consumption of league-related media content.'

Teresa Younger, the president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, said the league had a 'problem with women' and Goodell's recent steps to address domestic violence have fallen short because all of the women he hired were white. Goodell, she said, must also look at how women are involved at all levels of the league.

'The N.F.L. must have nonsexist advertising standards, pay cheerleaders good wages, hire and promote women coaches, referees and sportscasters, and promote women of all colors within the executive offices of the N.F.L.,' she said.

Getting the league and its teams to pay attention to this issue can take time and sometimes involves going to court.

Former cheerleaders have sued the Bills, the Jets and the Raiders for not paying them fairly and for being forced to pay for their work-related equipment. This month, the Raiders agreed to pay $1.25 million to 90 Raiderettes cheerleaders who worked for the team between 2010 and 2013 to settle a class-action suit that alleged that the team had failed to pay them state-mandated minimum wages.

'American sport culture is almost devoid of respect for women, women running sports, women playing sport,' said Donna A. Lopiano, the president of Sports Management Resources, which consults for sports organizations. 'They are continually sexualized in every shape and form.'

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