Goodell’s tone-deaf reaction to abuse

Domestic violence stance still a mess

Two years after the NFL grappled with the fallout from its callous and cavalier attitude toward domestic violence, another case has arisen that shows just how little has changed.

Josh Brown, the kicker the New York Giants signed to a $4 million contract in April despite questions about 2015 alleged domestic violence incidents involving his now ex-wife, has been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, ensuring he won’t be playing while Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league determine just how to clean up this mess.

The Giants played Sunday in London, with Robbie Gould kicking.

And Goodell? Well, he was doing some rather epic fansplaining in a tone-deaf attempt to lessen the anger being felt by fans as well as other owners and players.

“I understand the public misunderstanding of those things and how that can be difficult for them to understand how we get to those questions,” Goodell told the BBC’s Richard Conway in London in an effort to explain how the league came up with incomplete information when it investigated and suspended Brown for one game at a time when it fines players for touchdown celebrations.

Last week, Vernon Davis was dinged over $12,000 for his exuberance.

“But those are things that we have to do,” Goodell continued. “I think it’s a lot deeper and a lot more complicated than it appears, but it gets a lot of focus.”

It was only two years ago — after the Ray Rice video — that Goodell said: “Simply put, we have to do better. And we will.”

At least he was in lockstep last week with Giants owner John Mara, who was shocked — shocked! — by the events of last week.

“He certainly admitted to us that he abused his wife in the past,” Mara told WFAN Thursday, using words he’d surely like to take back. “What’s a little unclear is the extent of that.”

As any number of people pointed out, what is the threshold for abuse? What level of violence against women is acceptable? Only two years ago, after the two-game suspension Rice was given outraged people when contrasted with video of him abusing his now-wife, Mara said: “Everyone in our league — players, coaches, front-office people — need to understand there Roger Goodell is no excuse for domestic violence ever and there is going to be severe consequences.”

Some owners, it would seem, are more equal than others and CBS reported many are not happy with how this is playing out. One owner, whom ESPN did not name, called the latest situation an “embarrassment.”

Two league officials, according to ESPN, believe the NFL was uninterested in Brown’s case compared with Deflategate — the overinflated footballs issue surrounding Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

This comes at a time when players and fans are already growing tired of the penalties and fines assessed for touchdown celebrations. Torrey Smith, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, went public with his displeasure on Twitter. He was especially angry that Brown, who wrote of abusing his wife in documents that emerged last week, will be able to collect his base salary of about $1.5 million while players are fined for celebrating in the end zone.