The league's personal conduct policy states that if a player is accused of inappropriate sexual conduct, he could face discipline.
At the conclusion of the league meetings here, the NFL's personal conduct policy was still being investigated by the league. There is no timetable for the conclusion of the investigation, which is being overseen by Lisa Friel. Once the investigation is concluded, it will be referred to a joint appointment of the NFL and the NFLPA who will determine if the player should be suspended or fined for violating the personal conduct policy.
The personal conduct policy does not need a criminal violation in order to pursue it.
The grand juries in Texas declined to indict him on charges stemming from complaints by massage therapists that he engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior. At a news conference last week, he said that he did not plan to settle the civil complaints against the women.
The lack of criminal charges makes it less likely that he will be placed on the commissioner's exempt list. As long as the league's investigation is ongoing, it is likely that he will be available to the Cleveland Browns.
The structure of the new, fully guaranteed contract with Cleveland, which includes a large signing bonus but a league-minimum salary this year, would affect the manner in which the league might impose discipline. If he were to be suspended with pay, the low base salary would serve as financial protection, since the game checks he missed would be league minimums. Discipline may be a fine, a suspension for a fixed or an indefinite period of time, and a combination of the two, according to the personal conduct policy.
The contract structure would not restrict the ability to impose discipline.
There were other items addressed in the news conference.
The owner of the Washington Commanders will not be in charge of the daily operations of the team as a result of the NFL investigation last year. The co-CEO of the Commanders, and his wife, have represented the team at league functions for nearly eight months. She has handled the day-to-day running of the franchise. Dan Snyder did attend Washington's games last season, but has not been at the team's practice facility in Virginia. At some point, Dan and I will talk about that, but at the moment, it will continue for at least the foreseeable future.
On July 2, the National Football League announced that Washington had been fined $10 million for creating a toxic workplace culture and that Dan Snyder would step away from the daily operations of the franchise for at least several months. In February, the NFL opened another investigation into the matter after a former employee claimed she was sexually harassed. The investigation is still ongoing.
The league has a diversity, equity and inclusion committee and the important thing is to understand the complaints of former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores. The league passed a resolution Monday requiring every team to have at least one minority coach. If the allegations that the Dolphins owner offered to lose games to improve the team's draft position turned out to be true, those findings would be made public.
John Keim contributed to the report.
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