By PoliceOne Staff SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Police Officers Association wants an apology from the NFL and the 49ers. Following 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s comments about police …
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Gloria Allred Slams Roger Goodell and the NFL for Not Enforcing their Personal Conduct Rules!
Last week C.J. Spillman, a former Dallas Cowboys special teams player and former San Francisco 49’ers player, was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in Texas. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the assault.
I represent that victim who I will call Mary (although that is not her real name.) Mary has been very courageous to have reported the assault to law enforcement in this case. As a result, Mr. Spillman has been forced to be accountable in the criminal justice system for his crimes. The victim feels that justice was done there.
The same cannot be said, however, for the NFL which failed to live up to the promises it made to the community and to victims of violence by NFL players.
The attack on Mr. Spillman’s victim took place on September 20, 2014, one day after NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, conducted a now famous press conference in which Commissioner Goodell stated “I got it wrong in the handling of the Ray Rice matter. I am sorry for that. I got it wrong on a number of levels-from the process that I led to the decision that I reached.”
He also stated, “I believe in accountability. I understand the challenge before me and I will be held accountable for meeting it.”
Unfortunately for victims, Commissioner Goodell’s words do not match his deeds.
Despite the fact that on September 26, 2014, I delivered a letter to Commissioner Goodell’s office advising him of the police report alleging rape made to the Texas police on September 20, 2014, and despite the fact that after that I spent countless hours both in New York and California with NFL investigators who were investigating allegations against Mr. Spillman, the NFL appeared to do nothing and never informed me that they would take any action or impose any discipline at all against Mr. Spillman.
Their face-saving P.R. campaign which, in my opinion, was designed to make them appear to be sympathetic to victims of sexual assault or domestic violence is now revealed for what it really was, a sham and a slick P.R. trick.
The NFL’s lack of action was particularly devastating because a massage therapist (who is here with me today) had filed a police report in Santa Clara, California in December 2013, the year before the Texas sexual assault accusing Mr. Spillman who was an NFL player for the San Francisco 49’ers of sexually assaulting her.
No prosecution ensued, however as a result of that police report and Mr. Spillman was permitted to continue to play for the NFL.
An example of the failure of the NFL to take action consistent with Commissioner Goodell’s press conference and with the NFL’s “Personal Conduct Policy” is reflected in a report by the Dallas Morning News which reported that after the Texas criminal sexual assault investigation of Mr. Spillman became public. “…head coach, Jason Garrett said Spillman would continue to play for the Cowboys because in his mind, due process begins with a charge, not an allegation.”
He said this despite the fact that the NFL’s personal conduct policy indicated that a player could be in violation of the personal conduct policy even if no crime was ever committed or reported.
In other words, the NFL has failed to live up to its stated goals of accountability.
The NFL owes an apology both to the massage therapist who filed the first police report regarding Mr. Spillman and to the victim in the Texas case whose courage resulted in criminal convictions of Mr. Spillman.
It appears to me that the NFL has made no meaningful changes in its policy and practices when NFL players commit acts of violence against women. They are still protecting their players and their game and victims continue to bear the cost of their callous indifference to them. Victims deserve better treatment but I do not expect them to get it from the NFL.
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