PepsiCo CEO rips players, lauds commish

PepsiCo Inc. CEO Indra Nooyi made a doubleedged statement on the NFL’s problems handling domestic violence, calling some players’ behavior “repugnant” but saying commissioner Roger Goodell is “a man of integrity.”

The boss of the maker of Pepsi, Gatorade and Doritos, one of the league’s biggest advertisers and sponsor of last year’s Super Bowl halftime show, issued a statement late Wednesday that criticized the league but also expressed optimism it can fix its problems.

The league and its teams have come under fire over the past two weeks over how it is dealing with several players with domestic violence allegations against them. An investigation has been launched into whether Goodell knew about or saw a video of the Ravens’ Ray Rice hitting his thenfiancée earlier than he said.

But despite the lip service, it would be difficult for a sponsor to actually give up on the NFL’s power as a marketing machine. An average of 17.4 million people tune in during a regular season NFL game, about 65 percent men and 35 percent women, according to Nielsen. During the Super Bowl, that ratchets up to 111.5 million watchers.

Guilty plea for Elway’s son

In Denver, Jack Elway, the son of Broncos general manager John Elway, pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace after being accused of pulling his girlfriend from a car and shoving her to the ground.

John Albert Elway, 25, entered his plea Tuesday and was sentenced to one year of probation that includes domestic violence counseling.