The communication also recommends to players that, if they do abuse family members, they shouldn't text-message about it and they should make sure that the abuse isn't being recorded by surveillance cameras, according to the memo, signed by Commissioner Roger Goodell and obtained by TheYellowDailyNews.
The development comes amid a world-wind of events that rocked the NFL last week. First, a video surfaced showing running back Ray Rice punching his wife. Then on Friday, the Minnesota Vikings benched running back Adrian Peterson, indicted for allegedly beating his 4-year-old son with a branch and then sending text messages about it.
Before the Rice tape became public, the NFL suspended Rice for two games for the beating of the woman who would later marry him. But once a tape of his punch leaked online, the NFL permanently barred the Baltimore Ravens star from the NFL.
"These recent events should be a reminder that the NFL has a zero-tolerance policy if you get caught on tape punching, slapping, backhanding, molesting, and/or hitting a family member with a branch," Goodell's one-page memo said.
A police report obtained by Houston radio station KILT said Peterson admitted that he did "whoop" his 4-year-old son with a switch, even hitting the boy's scrotum. According to the report:
Peterson also allegedly said via text message to the child’s mother that he "felt bad after the fact when I notice the switch was wrapping around hitting I (sic) thigh” and also acknowledged the injury to the child’s scrotum in a text message, saying, "Got him in nuts once I noticed. But I felt so bad, n I’m all tearing that butt up when needed! I start putting them in timeout. N save the whooping for needed memories!" In further text messages, Peterson allegedly said, "Never do I go overboard! But all my kids will know, hey daddy has the biggie heart but don’t play no games when it comes to acting right."In a statement, the NFL told TheYellowDailyNews that it was mulling whether Peterson should be suspended or barred from the league.
"It is absolutely unacceptable," the NFL statement said, "to send text messages about whacking your son in the scrotum with a branch."
See Also:
- NFL Running Back Apologizes for Punching Wife, Says Should Have Used Backhand (TYDN)
- Lack of Conditioning Gets Steelers' Polamalu On Disabled List (TYDN).
- Bush Upset He Cited WMD, Not ISIS As Grounds To Invade Iraq (TYDN)
- China's Internet Servers Buckle in Wake of NBA Jeremy Lin Look-a-Like Contest (TYDN)
- NBA Adopts No-Cry Rule (TYDN)
