that's the big question for roger goodell today. >> and indeed, that is totally right. stay with us ann. joining us, greg bedard, espn senior writer and havitha davidson back for breaking news conference. greg, back to you. ann raises a critical question. can roger goodell come out in this presser and assert himself in a way that says, hey, i'm still in charge of the nfl. we're still a brand that sponsors can feel comfortable working with, that fans can feel comfortable aligning themselves with. how does he do that? >> i think the first thing he needs to do is they need a huge m mea culpa. he needs to say, we have ignored these issues and we are employing to enact serious changes for what's been going on in the league. and i think that's where you start. and then it's going to be about

what kind of punishment are we talking about? because they've had a personal conduct policy in place since 20007 that calls for action and being proactive for a lot of these things. but where they have really screwed up is the enforcement of that. actually, being punitive. so, i think we need to see what steps they're going to take in the future. >> up to this point, the nfl is an organization that has, for the most part, been untouchable. what do you maked about the timing of him coming out to speak today, coming out right now to give a statement? >> frankly, i don't think it's any coincidence he's finally coming out of the woodwork that sponsors like anheuser-busch, visa, mcdonald's have come out saying they're disappointed with the way it's been handled. sponsorship is the only thing that can move the needle on this and the nfl responds to. i think that's kind of encouraging because the thing that moves sponsorship money is public outrage and sustained public outrage. so we do have a say in this.

it needs to go through the corporations. >> do you think the nfl is finally getting ahead of this story? it certainly seems like in all of their previous actions, they're just reacting to public outrage. which is good. i'm glad they're raeking, but they should also be acting with their own sense of what's right and wrong here. >> i don't know if it's possible for the nfl to get out in front of this anymore because it's been so far ahead of them for so long. and they're just going to continually be playing catch-up. whatever they do towards this is a positive sign, i suppose, but i think that we should remain a little skeptical as we were a few weeks ago when goodell instituted the domestic violence policy. the two questions is how will this be implemented, effectively or just lip service to an issue that will continue to be overlooked. the second question is, will the league spend its enormous resources on it. it seems the nfl is throwing money at the situation and also getting support and helping these domestic violence advocacy

groups. that's key to this. >> i think she's right. we hear, america feels like we're hearing a lot of lip service, the nfl throwing money at a problem and not dealing with the deep, structural issues that are going on here. and when they talk about overhauling the personal conduct policy, i'm like, okay, great, i want to hear where that goes. and then we hear about education sessions and resource awareness and donating to advocacy groups. sounds like when politicians identify a problem and they say, we're going to commission a study to figure out what we should do, next steps. what are they going to do about this rash of players committing domestic violence, one of the most heinous crimes in america? >> well, i think education is a good place to start. i think it's been sorely lacking in the nfl. you know, a lot of these guys are coming from college and they don't really understand the problem. and i think the other thing is, you know, we're going to have to see real punishment. you know, that's where the nfl's going to walk a fine line.

i'm sure they've been walking with all sorts of lawyers to figure it out. people are afforded due process. not really in the nfl. in their private entity, they can do whatever they want, but really it starts with, you know, they have to set certain punishment and they have to enact it. these guys know it's real instead of just, you know, sort of roger just picking and choosing where he wants to enact it. >> i understand the due process part of this as an american, of course, but as you know, playing the nfl is a privilege. it's not a right. it's not a normal job. and a lot of teams in the nfl have been hiding behind the legal process and saying, well, you know, people are -- we have to wait until we see how the legal process plays out even though we see photographs of what this person did to their child, we see video of what that person did to their wife and in the greg hardy situation, the carolina panther, he was convicted of two domestic violence incidents and still allowed to apply because his appeal was forthcoming. i feel like, and i think a lot

of americans feel like, the nfl should have a different standard than the legal system. >> i completely agree with you. when roger enacted the personal conduct policy in 2007 he talked about people in the league being held to a higher standard. that just hasn't happened. and i think that, you know, if anything, what we learned from all this, and i can only speak for myself, you know, i think the media has played a role in this. i think a lot of us domestic violence, child abuse, has not been part of our lives. we're not aware of the problem. i think the ray rice video smacked us in the face. before we used to defer to the criminal justice system and would say, we're not going to punish this guy. why should we? after seeing ray rice, we know the criminal justice system is sorely lacking in these realms. the nfl has to be proactive, investigate and decide for

themselves because it's their league. if these guys are falling short of the regular behavior of everyday life, they need to be held accountable regardless of what happens in the criminal justice system. >> 57 cases under roger goodell since 2006. there are a lot of questions people want to ask. i'm sure a lot of tough questions, one being, how is it you did not see video of the ray rice elevator situation until tmz released it? another question i'm assuming he'll be asked is what do you make of the comments you having to step down for the league to move forward? what do you expect more questions will be? what do you want to see? >> di think it's disturbing we needed to see that second video. we had a police report, a first video and what did we think really went down in there? goodell has been contending ray rice lied to him about what was on that second video and that's why he can circumvent and own

new domestic violence policy and the players union will take issue with that. did he want to see that video? it clearly arrived at the league office and what actually went down there with that. but at the end of the day, it's not that important. why did it take that video to have definitive action on something as serious as this? and i think he needs to answer a lot of the cultural problems we're not talking about with football. whether it's possible to compartmentalize football off the field and what it means to these men, violence is their way of lie, the way they make their living. that's something educational programs, i suppose, and going back to youth levels of football can address. that's something we're not really talking about with this issue yet. >> greg, as you know, we've got new poll numbers, nbc news poll numbers on how fans are viewing the nfl's handling of this situation and also how it's

impacting their habits in terms of watching games. it's kind of contradictory. on the one hand you've got a majority of americans, 53% of all americans, 57% of all football fans saying they disapprove of the handling of domestic violence issues and yet 86% saying it's not going to change whether or not they watch the game. so, at some point, do fans start to drop off and find that while watching that sunday game, watch monday night football isn't as much fun with these sort of questions and clouds hanging over the league. >> i think at some point there's a saturation point. and i think that's why the nfl is trying to be proactive, to keep that from happening. but, you know, that's what this all comes back to. you know, people can be upset with the nfl. until they stop coming back and watching television games and the ratings are sky high or sponsors pull out, that's the only time the nfl ever listens to anything. when sponsors start pulling out,

the ratings start going down. until that happens, the nfl is not going to be proceed active about anything. >> that's right. so far ratings remain sky high for the games this season that we've seen. nfl fans are not telling pollsters they're going to turn away. 85% saying they're still going to watch the games, just as they always have. so if sponsors aren't demanding a change, and they're not. we talk about radisson stepping away. for the most part, sponsors say, we're concerned. not, we don't want to be involved in this industry. where is the pressure on the nfl to do something? >> well, there really isn't. that's part of the problem. there hasn't been any pressure on the nfl to do anything for years now. the only positive takeaway is we're seeing some kind of hand being forced because of the sustained pressure that's been

on their brand at least until it affects what's happening on the field -- if you compare it to baseball. baseball has had ratingsing because -- >> steroids, labor. >> the product on the field is something to be questioned. that's not what's happening with football. i actually have a theory that -- imagine if we saw adrian peterson suiting up with a radisson on his jersey, then that might force the sponsors to think twice about whether or not they -- >> that sounds like a different kind of football. not american football. people don't remember, there was a time when baseball was america's favorite sport. there was a time when boxing was mshg's favorite sport. these things change. football doesn't necessarily have to be america's favorite sport forever if it doesn't handle something like this right. stay here. we'll be back with roger

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we continue to follow breaking news. nfl commissioner roger goodell will speak any moment on the domestic abuse issues plaguing the league. we'll go to the news conference the moment it begins. nbc's anne thompson is outside the hotel where that news conference will be playing place. ann, anything new? >> reporter: we can tell you apparently commissioner goodell is a block away. he has about half a mile to walk or drive from nfl headquarters on park avenue to the new york

hilton where this press conference will happen. following up on the conversation in the last segment, the thing is nfl sells heroes and sells heroism. that is in danger with that scandal is, look, the vast majority of nfl football players don't abuse their wife's, are not involved in child abuse. yes, there is violence on the field but off the field they are good men. the problem now is that because of the actions of a few and the league's indecision about what to do about these accusations and in some cases the greg hardy case, the league has been damaged. and that larger than life heroism we all enjoy on autumn sundays, the family brands, now believe they're tarnished by

association. that's where the pressure is coming. that's what goodell has to address. >> very interesting. thank you for that. stay with us. joining us again, greg bedard, "sports illustrated "senior writer and kavitha davidson. do you think the relationship will change between the nfl and america -- >> here comes roger goodell. >> good afternoon. thank you all for coming today. i will like to make a faw points and then i'll be happy to take your questions. at our best the nfl sets an example that makes a positive difference. unfortunately, over the past several weeks we have seen all too much of the nfl doing wrong. that starts with me. i said this before back on august 28th and i say it again now.

i got it wrong in the handling of the ray rice matter. i'm sorry for that. i got it wrong on a number of levels from the process that i led to the decision that i reached. but now i will get it right and do whatever is necessary to accomplish that. first, i don't expect anyone to take just my word. last week i asked former fbi director robber muller to conduct an independent investigation to answer the questions raised about our process in reviewing ray rice's conduct. i pledge mr. muller will have full access and cooperation. we all look forward to his report and findings. i promise you any shortcomings

he finds in how we dealt with the situation will lead to swift action. the same mistakes can never be repeated. we will do whatever it is necessary to ensure we are thorough in our review process and that our conclusions are reliable. we will get our house in order first. second and most importantly, these incidents demonstrate we can use the nfl to help create change. not only in our league but in society with regard to domestic violence and sexual assault. on august 28th i said the entire nfl would receive comprehensions ive information, resources and support for victims on domestic

violence and sexual assault. we will re-examine, enhance and improve all of our current programs and then we'll do more. earlier day each nfl club and all of our legal offices receive help on advocacy. in addition, our team and league staff, everyone, will participate in education sessions starting in the next month followed by training programs. these programs are being developed by a top group of experts. some of them were announced earlier in the week. we will continue to identify and add expertise to our team. and we will ask the nfl players association to help us develop and deliver these programs in the most effective way.

third, we recognize domestic violence and sexual assault exists everywhere, in every community, economic class, racial and ethnic group, it affects all of us. these are problems we are committed to addressing. but we cannot solve them by ourselves. law enforcement, the criminal justice system, social services organization and families are the cornerstones to addressing this problem. for our part, we can add and we will do more. to begin, we have entered into a long-time partnership with two leading national organizations. the national organization of domestic hot line and the

national sexual violence resource center. the hot line received an 84% increase in their call volume just last week. they did not have the resources to reach even half of those calls. they need our help. and we are providing it. fourth, we strongly, strongly, condemn and will punish behavior that is totally unacceptable. domestic violence, including child abuse, sexual assault, irresponsible ownership or handling of firearms, the illegal use of alcohol or drugs. and discipline. our standards and the consequences of falling short

must be clear, consistent and current. they must be implemented through procedures that are fair and transparent. this is a central issue today. i'm here now because our rules, policies and procedures are personal conduct failed to ensure that this high standard is met. but i want to make it clear, these are very complex issues. our country has a legal system that everyone needs to respect. when there is evidence of misconduct by anyone in the nfl, we ned to carefully consider when to act and on what evidence. everyone deserves a fair process. you know i feel passionately that working in the nfl, in any

capacity, is a privilege. something we must earn every day and must never take for granted. the vast majority of players, coaches and owners in the nfl stand tall. not only for their role in the game but for what they do in their communities. to get all this right, we will bring together their players and union representatives, coaches, owners and outside experts who can help us set the right standards and identify the right procedures. i have discussed these challenges with the players association executive director morris smith. he shares my view that domestic violence and sexual assault have sfo place in the nfl. he and i will meet next week to bring together experts to help us establish and live up to the standards that our fans deserve.

and that we set for ourselves. i will be asking these experts to examine all current nfl policies related to employee and player conduct and discipline. they will address how to balance due process rights for those accused with the need to hold our personnel to the highest standards. they should also consider the current system for determining violations, including my role in the process. there will be changes to our personal conduct policy. i know this because we will make it happen. nothing is off the table. let me say it again. we will implement new conduct policies. they will have a set of clear and transparent rules for league and club personnel, owners and

players. my goal is to complete this by the super bowl. football and the nfl have always changed and improved. we drive changes in the game through our competition committee. it reviews and updates the rules to govern the game on the field. through this process of evaluation reform, we keep the game competitive, entertaining, fair and most importantly, do everything we can to protect our players on the field from injury. we go to enormous lengths to make sure players, coaches, officials, fans, our broadcast partners fully understand our playing rules and how they are enforced. that must now be our model when it comes to personal conduct.

so, like the competition committee and other league contest, i'm establishing a conduct committee to review these new rules in the months and years to come and ensure that we are always living with the best practices. there is no reason we cannot be as transparent and as effective on these issues as we are with the game on the field. i believe in accountability. i understand the challenges before me and i will be held accountable for meeting them. every day so many of our players, coaches and staffs are doing tremendous things in their communities. i couldn't be more proud of how they're using the opportunity to help make a positive difference. today i ask everyone that is part of the nfl to join me in making positive and significant changes going forward.

i'll take your questions. >> reporter: commissioner goode goodell. peter alexander from nbc news. if this had been someone you loved, would you be happy with the way the league handled the situation and what would you say to them? >> i'm not satisfied with the way we handled it from the get go. as i told you and this statement indicates, i made a mistake. i'm not satisfied with the process we went through. i'm not satisfied with the conclusions. we said we're going to do better going forward. we have a set of very complex issues that we have to deal with. that's no excuse. we need to go and get some experts to help us.

how do we do this better? how do we restructure our personal conduct policy and expect the kind of behaviors we expect? and to make sure we educate, we train, we do everything possible to hit that mark for all of us. and when we don't, there will have to be consequences. i'm not satisfied with what we did. i let myself down. i let everybody else down. for that, i'm sorry, as i mentioned earlier. but that's what we're going to correct and that's what we're going to fix. >> reporter: roger, you've had pretty extreme unilateral power in deciding discipline, but as you've said a few times, you've gotten it wrong in a few cases. that tends to happen when there's no checks and balances. how willing are you to give up some of that power? and do you think that would be the right thing for to you do? >> rachel, as i said in my statement, everything's on the table. we're going to make sure we look at every aspect of the process

of how we gather information to make a decision, how we make that decision and then the appeals process. and all of that's on the table and all of that is important information that we want outside experts to give us perspective on and see if there's a better way to do it. we believe there is and we believe we need it. we can't continue to operate like this. >> also, you mentioned on tv last week that you guys checked and tried to get the ray rice video and any information. the atlantic city prosecutor's office says they don't have any electronic information from the nfl asking for those kinds of documentation or the video. can you give us the trail of how you did that investigation so that people can know really what you put into it? >> certainly, our security department works with law enforcement. they're fully cooperative. we gather almost entirely all of our information through law enforcement. and that's something else we're going to look at.

is that the right process? should all of our information be gathered simply through law enforcement. we understand and respect what they go for and the job they have to do. and there are certain restrictions they may be under. [ inaudible ] >> oh, we asked for it on several occasions, according to our security department. we ent. through it. we asked for it on several kashs over the spring, all the way from june. from february through june. so, i'm confident our people did that. and so i -- that's something that we'll have to discuss directly with them. >> reporter: i was in minnesota on sunday and i saw a mother with her two kids, both wearing adrian peterson jerseys. and she said to me, i'm conflicted about this. i don't know what i should do. he's our favorite player. obviously, we had a similar situation with ray rice. the sponsors spoke out. what is your message to the

mother with two peterson juerses and doesn't know what to do with them. >> the first thing, we're like the broader society in several ways. we're a microcosm of society. we have a long of young men and individuals that play or coach, executives, other individuals in the league that they make mistakes. and that is something that while i'm disappointed in what adrian peterson was involved in, we to want see the facts. i think what we see so far is tragic. it's hard to look at. i have two daughters who are 13. it's very difficult to see. and i think what we have to do is allow those facts to proceed, but the important message, i think, for all of us as parents is that our children are going to make mistakes. they need to learn how to take responsibility and be accountable for those mistakes. and deal with those. that's something my wife jane

and i work very hard with our kids. when you make a mistake, be accountable for it. >> reporter: in 2012 after bountygate, you suspended sean payton for a year. you said ignorance is not an excuse. a lot of people think you're not holding yourself to that same standard. have you considered resigning at any point throughout this? >> i am not. i'm focused on doing my job and doing to the best of my ability. i understand when people are critical of your performance. but we have a lot of worked to. that's my focus. we've been busy in the last couple of weeks. we have results to show for it. we talked about some of them in my statement. but i'm proud of the opportunity we have to try to make a difference here and do the right thing. we've acknowledged we need to change what we're doing. now we have to get to, what are

those changes going to be? >> reporter: there have been a lot of high profile, high level calls calling for your resignation. what would you say to those people? why do you feel you should continue in this role? >> because i acknowledged my mistake. on august 28th i said, we didn't get this right. we're going to make changes. we made those changes -- are making those changes. we have a lot more work to be done, but we're moving in a very important direction by getting expertise to say, how do we do this better. the nfl has to take care of his house, as i said. that's what my focus is. how do we do this better at the nfl. and make sure we keep everything on the table. we're going to make sure that we look at every aspect from the collection of evidence to how we

go through the process, who makes the determination, what the appeal process is and we'll make those changes that i believe will be beneficial to the league long term. in addition, i think we can make some changes and i think they'll be positive in domestic violence and sexual assault areas, child abuse areas. those are places we think we can make a huge difference in at some time. >> reporter: you mentioned due process in your statement. right now there's a lot of inconsistency. ray mcdonald is playing, hardy is not, peterson is not, dwyer is not. some guys on the exempt list. some guys on the nonfootball illness list. i know you mentioned due process and when to act. that's a bit of a slippery slope. do you have a list to put these guys on? >> you're highlighting exactly the point, mike, that we need to change our policies and procedures and we need to get

some help in trying to identify how to do that. we tell state laws it will be different state to state and even locally. we need to make sure we look at when the nfl should be involved in the investigative process. we need to know how much reliance we should have on law enforcement information. so, you're highlighting exactly the issues. we aren't -- we do not have a clear and consistent policy that will allow us to deal with all the issues that are arising. that's why we talked about last month, we need to change our policies. we need to get experts to help us deal with those issues that are complex, due process and make sure we allow our employees the opportunity to defend themselves. but also make sure we're maintaining the integrity of the league and what we're doing. we have an obligation there. and we're prepared to do that.

and we are going to do that. >> reporter: in your interview with cbs news almost two weeks ago, you said ray rice was ambiguous in his description of what happened in the elevator. that is why you went back and suspended him further after the video came out. what exactly did ray rice tell you happened in the elevator and how did what you thought in your mind happened in the elevator differ from what we saw on the video? >> well, jude y a couple things. first off, as i said, we got new information from the first time i met with him to my initial discipline, which three weeks later i acknowledged was not sufficient. it was clear there was an act of domestic violence but it was inconsistent with the way he described what happened. when we had that new information, we had the ability to say, we're going to interject. we're going to take additional

action. that's what we did. there was new information that developed because we had not seen that second tape that became public roughly ten days or so ago. and that was not consistent with what he said. [ inaudible ] >> the one issue is this is now a matter of appeal. the nflpa has appealed this. so, it's a matter that will be taken up in appeal. so without prejudging, without getting into specifics on this one, i've got to at least respect the appeal process. >> reporter: what about transparency. why not say what he inside. >> i'm telling you right now that it's inconsistent with what he told us, what we saw on that video when it came out roughly ten days ago. we have an appeals process. that information will come out at some point in time. >> reporter: the appeals process is not about those details. the appeals process is more specific saying they got

multiple -- [ inaudible ] >> well, peter, i may disagree with you. i think that's something that the appeals has to determine. we have not seen all the papers on appeal. it is the fact there is an appeal and they may be able to raise several issues in the context of that appeal. that's a decision they have sfo make. i can't make that. >> commissioner, to your right. you mentioned the two women's groups the nfl will be working with. can you give us an idea how you'll be assisting them? to follow that up, if the 32 owners had a vote today whether or not you should keep your job, what do you think the results would be? >> that's a hypothetical with which i can't deal with. we had 20 owners in the office this week for a prescheduled committee meetings, in preparation for your league meeting next month. and we're just focusing on getting our work done and so are they. so, we had very productive meetings with them. the first part of your question was about the different

organizations. what we saw in our contacted is that because of the attention this issue was brought by the ray rice matter and potentially other issues coming to light, this is something that became a need for what our experts tell us was happening in the community. what is happening is it's clear there's a need for people to seek help in all communities. that's why saw a spike in this. what we want to do is to help provide assistance in this and that was something we could do. we said to them, we want to be involved. we want to help. and we will provide resources and assistance to be sure you can get the personnel there to be able to answer the questions. we're pleased to do that. we should be providing that kind of assistance. >> reporter: dan graziano, espn.

the ap report about the video being sent to your office cites a voice mail and someone confirmed receipt of it. how do you explain that amid the league's denial they had the video? >> that's exactly why i mentioned in my statement that we hired robert mueller, longest serving director of the fbi, to make sure that that individual, robert mueller and his staff, they go through and they find out as many facts as they possibly can and report. it's independent. i don't know where he is on that. but all that information will be something that director muller will be dealing with. >> reporter: you've been clear throughout your tenure you would be hard to people that committed crimes. why do you think the domestic violence crimes, such as ray rice, had given you such a difficult time and weren't treated as harshly as some others were? >> as i said early on, we made a mistake letting our standards fall below where they should be. we should have had our personal

conduct policy reviewed more frequently. to make the changes necessary to deal with the change. we changed that policy on a broad perspective in 2007. it's had a positive impact on overall number of criminal activity. but what we need to do is go back and say, okay, fwheer a different age now with different issues and different chath challenges. let's go back and figure out how to do that again and do it in a consistent and fair way. that's what we're doing with the outside experts. >> was there something about domestic violence crimes, these specific ones, that made it more difficult for you to adjudicate them? >> well, i think the policy itself was, gerngs not up to standards. the standard discipline for that was way below what it should be. when we saw the first video, it was horrifying. and we went through the process

and we disciplined consistent with that policy. that wasn't sufficient, as i said. that was a mistake. so, we had to go back and fix our policy in the short term and say, this isn't sufficient discipline. we met with a variety of experts on this. we came to a conclusion of what the discipline will be. at least as a standard with aggravating circumstance that could allow us some flexibility. and also that we would banish on a second offense. so we took a very strong position saying, this is not acceptable. now, we have to get back into the more difficult work, which is how do we understand when the nfl should get involved in a particular situation, with law enforcement, with the criminal justice system. and how do we make sure that our policies will give us the flexibility to deal from state laws that vary, from state to state and to try to give us that consistency so that it is more

difficult -- excuse me, it is more simple to make those decisions on a fair and consistent basis. >> peter king. >> reporter: roger, peter king. >> yeah, peter. >> reporter: do you still believe that to the best of your knowledge that no one in the nfl office has seen the ray rice video before it surfaced on tmz? >> yes. >> reporter: okay. secondly, do you believe that right now you have the full support of all 32 owners in the nfl backing you in what you're doing right now? >> peter, i believe i have the support of the owners. that has been clear to me. they obviously expect us to do a better job. as i said to several, i don't like to let down anybody, peter. myself, starts with myself. i hold myself to the highest possible standards. so, when i make a mistake or i don't get something right, it bothers me more than anybody. i think the owners have seen that in me. i think they know that we have

always tried to do the right thing. mistakes happen. and i'm sorry for that. and we're going to get this right. that's -- >> reporter: roger, you've announced a new personal conduct committee. what will your role be with that and how are you reducing your role or your power in these kind of cases with having that kind of committee? >> well, i think the personal conduct committee, and we'll have to develop it further and who might serve on it, whether we'll have outside expertise that will join that, is really about, what are the standards? what's the conduct we want in the nfl? how do we want to represent ourselves? what's important to us as a league? and who want to make sure we're holding ourselves to that standard and maybe exceeding it. we want to exceed every single standard we set. and that's what i expect this conduct committee to do. similar to the competition committee is how do we improve everything we're doing?

evaluate it on a regular basis. if our personal conduct policy needs to be changed and updated, we need to do that. and i would expect that the conduct committee would be -- would oversee that. >> reporter: hi, roger. >> hi, dan. >> reporter: how are you? >> i'm good, thank you. >> reporter: a number of corporate sponsors have put out disapproving statements in the last week. how many difficult conversations have you had with your business partners, how many have suggested if things did not improve they would pull out? and did you specifically talk to anheuser-busch which put out a particularly disapproving comment? >> dan, it starts with what i just mentioned before. i disappointed myself. i disappointed the nfl. i disappointed our fans. our partners and we need to do better. i made that clear on august 28th to our ownership. i made it clear since.

i made it clear to sponsors directly that we are going to do better in this area. there are things we need to clean up in our house and make sure we get right. and we will. and we will make a difference in this area. now we have to -- now we have to deliver. >> were you close to losing a sponsor? >> pardon me? >> reporter: were you close to losing a sponsor? >> have you to speak to the sponsors about that. i don't believe so. >> reporter: morgan brennan, cnbc. just to piggyback off that question. what are your comments on the fact that procter & gamble pulled its partnership plug today? >> well, again, we've been in contact with our sponsors. several of them have promotions in the marketplace that are inconsistent with, obviously, what's going on here. and we understand that. what we said is, we're going to clean up our house. we're going to get this straight and we're going to make a difference. and they want to see us make that difference.

and that's up to us to deliver on. they want to see us achieve that. they're not looking for talk. they to want see action. that's what we're looking for. that's why we've been focused over the last couple of weeks so hard on getting it right. do the things we said we were going to do and get it right. and do the hard work. this is not a quick fix. this is something we have to work hard at. and we will. >> reporter: roger, you talked about establishing a personal conduct committee. you said the goal was to be completed by the super bowl. what to be completed by the super bowl? because isn't this -- aren't these issues constantly evolving. >> yes. >> reporter: personal issues? >> yes. that's why we want to get to work immediately. the conduct committee is not the committee i would expect to make the changes in the personal conduct policy. what we have to do, and i speak to dee about this, is reach out for experts in the area. some may be in law enforcement,

some may be in the criminal justice system. some may be experts in domestic violence, sexual assault or child abuse area. and bring all of those experts and their views on this of how we can improve the policy. everything from how we collect information to when the nfl is involved with law enforcement or do we have a separate investigation? and those are all difficult issues to ensure they have due process, anybody is involved, but also make sure we're maintaining the integrity of the nfl. >> so, the idea to have the committee in place by the super bowl or to start making some of those decisions? >> i expect i'll have the committee in place by the super bowl. yes. >> reporter: commissioner, thanks for doing this. i wondered if you personally have ever been involved in an abuse situation in any capacity? and then secondly, i wondered if you anticipate any personnel changes, if not change in commissioner, how can you bring meaningful change and credible

change, and changt culture and attitude without a change in personnel? >> the first answer to your question is i have not. the second answer to your question is, we are making personnel changes. we announced several of them over the last week. we have more to come. we're looking to see, how do we strengthen our team in this area? how do we bring the right voices to the table to make changes not only in what we do, but more broadly. so, i expect personnel changes will continue. that's part of how we get better. that's part of how we evolve and learn from our mistakes and do a better job going forward. >> reporter: commissioner. >> yes. >> reporter: two things. one is when you made the original suspension of two games, were any women advising you? second, in your personal conduct policy that you're revising, are you willing to put that into the cba? >> on the first one, i think you're pointing out exactly what

we're concerned about, is that we didn't have the right voices at the table. we need to get better expertise. some of you know we announced a earlier this week that lisa freele is joining us as a former chief of sex crimes in downtown new york. i think she's going to be able to provide a very valuable perspective for us in understanding the criminal justice system particularly in this area. and those are the types of people we want to have in part of our organization and part of our decision-making process. >> stop! >> what's going on? ow! what are you doing? don't take me to an elevator! please! don't take me to an elevator! please! >> sorry about that. >> i had nothing to do with that. >> mr. goodell, i guess there's

a lot of confusion from fans out there about the mistake that you say you've made. you talk about your investigative department at the nfl. regardless of what mr. rice said on june 16th and what was on the second videotape on the initial summons it clearly says that mr. rice struck janay palmer with his hand rendering her unconscious. why wasn't it enough then to put this right? >> well, it was and we saw, obviously, the original video and it was clear that domestic violence violation had occurred. that was clear to us and it was horrifying. and that's why we took the step we did. we did the two-game suspension and a fine of $500,000. it was not sufficient. and that's because our policies -- as i indicated earlier, had fallen behind where we need them to be. we needed to get the policies in

a position where the standard for that kind of violation has to be much higher. that's why three weeks later we raised that standard and said this is not going to be acceptable behavior and when it occurs it's a minimum six game or standard of six game with aggravating circumstances that we can consider and have additional penalties if necessary. >> commissioner you mentioned robert muller's investigation as key to solving all of these issues i'm not going to discuss the integrity of the ex-director of the fbi. he's a man of integrity. . but the lawmaker that he works for that will help him carry out the investigation is a lawmaker with close ties to the nfl. you paid them to help you negotiate television deals. the president of the ravens worked at that law firm more than 30 years.

how do you expect this to affect everything? >> i respectfully disagree. you are questioning the integrity of the director of the fbi. yes, that firm has represented us in the past but they have also been on the other side in litigation against the nfl. so this is -- a highly respected individual that served as director of the fbi, longest-serving director in the history of that position. his credentials are paralleled. >> but part of the idea is to restore public trust. even if he does a flawless investigation aren't you leaving the door open for doubt? >> rachel? unfortunately we live in a world where there is a lot of litigation. there are a lot of people with a lot of interaction with us in the past. robert mueller has not. law firms may have. we were hiring robert mueller

and his credentials and credibility to do an independent investigation reporting to the owners. and i'm confidentiality that will be the case. >> did he interview you yet? it has been a week since you announced this -- >> that's something that robert mueller is going to have to announce. he's running an independent investigation. he will meet with anybody he wishes whenever he wishes. he will get full cooperation from me and anyone else in the building. i'm not making any comments on the investigation. he has full access. if he feels he wants to speak to anyone -- >> adam glenn here with tmz and tmz sports. i have to go back into the video. you suspended ray rice after our video. why didn't you have the curiosity to go to the casino yourself? >> two things we suspended ray rice after seeing the original

video that was disclosed back in february. when the second video came out last week, that's when we increased our discipline because that was inconsistent with the information we had and it was new information. one of the things i said in my statement and said repeatedly here is that is part of what we want to do with all of our experts outside, internal, is to try to figure out how should we investigate these issues? in the past we have been almost completely reliant on working with law enforcement and cooperating with them. we do not want to interfere with a criminal investigation. in particular here when you're dealing with a casino in new jersey there are even more restrictions because it is overseen i believe by the attorney general. so we have to be very cautious in not interfering with a criminal investigation but we'll evaluate that. i would have loved to have seen that tape.

should we do more to get that information in the future? that's a question i want these experts to do. >> we found out by one phone call. you have a legal department. we found out by just one phone call. >> i can't explain how you got the information. only you tcan do that. >> chris strauss. >> two questions on the ray rice situation. first of all do you regret having ray and janay rice in the same room together when you met with them? and have you decided who will hear the appeal for ray rice in your office? >> i have not on the second part of your question. i will be making that decision shortly. someone else will be hearing that case. on your first part is yes. it's part of the learnings that we had throughout this is that there are certain proper ways of having those kinds of decisions when couples are going through domestic violence issue. and we have learned.

that we have learned that from our experts is that we shouldn't have them in the same room or we should give them the opportunity to speak separately also. and that's something we have learned from this and we will correct going forward. >> commissioner what do you say -- you can't speak out about the individuals who have cases that are not resolved. but what do you say to greg hardy, who has been convicted of attack his girlfriend? what is your language that you would say to him where he is standing in front of you? >> we're disappointed in where he is. we think what he did and what was alleged in the court records. >> he was convicted. >> he was convicted and what happens when he appeals that is it's wiped out until he goes to a jury trial. again, you're highlighting exactly -- can i finish? you are highlighting exactly the issue that we're concerned about is when do we engage? there was a conviction.

it is removed until the jury trial and then should we let that go all the way through? >> fair enough. what do you say to him? you're a father -- >> quick question, please. my hand has been up for a while. it's obvious when you look at the field a lot of players it's a diverse crowd a lot of the players highlighted recently are african-american. can you justify not having an african-american as part of that group of women you have hired to look into sexual assault and domestic violence? >> that's not true. we have internal experts that have been working on this that are people of color. that are women and men. and they have been involved with this process from the beginning. in addition, as i said in my statement, is that we will continually evaluate, do we need other resources? do we need other individuals or

organizations that can help us make -- [ inaudible question ] >> well, those three women are advising us as well as we have full-time staff, including an african-american woman who has great experience in this area and has been involved in this for several years with the nfl and has been on the ncaa level. so we understand the need for diversity. it's important for us and we will always look to do what we can to improve on that. >> thank you. we're good. thank you. yeah, i got it. >> that was nfl commissioner roger goodell breaking his silence on what has become a national scandal. joining me now -- sorry. do we have the sound? we don't have the sound.

goodell also announced the nfl would be implementing a new set of personal conduct policies due to their obvious failure in recent weeks. >> our standards and the consequences of falling short must be clear, consistent, and current. nothing is off the table. we will implement new conduct policies. they will have a set of clear and transparent rules for league and club personnel, owners and players. we can't continue to operate like this. >> when asked whether he had considered resigning, goodell said he had not. today hundreds of ravens fans lined up at m & t stadium to exchange their ray rice jerseys for other jerseys. and president obama launched a campaign called it's on