The league and its 32 clubs are working hard to get ready for the 2015 season. For the NFL, this includes developing the next phase of our education around social issues (domestic violence, sexual assault, DUI, child abuse, etc.).
We are communicating the NFL's revised Personal Conduct Policy to all employees, players and coaches. Our goal is to ensure everyone receives the same baseline education regarding domestic violence and sexual assault.
Now is the time when clubs look to add to their rosters and strengthen their team with new players, often right out of college, known as the NFL Draft (April 30-May 2 in Chicago). In our ongoing commitment to educate the NFL family on critical social issues, we wanted to share our approach to the Draft and explain our process as a whole.
The Draft
While the league facilitates the Draft process, each NFL club has its own player personnel department that identifies potential prospects according to roster needs.
The pool of potential draftees is derived primarily from those playing college football.
Baseline Draft Eligibility Rules require prospects to have been three years removed from high school. Additionally, many of our players have completed four seasons of collegiate football prior to joining the NFL family, and this is something we strongly encourage.
Once eligible, an extensive player evaluation occurs by club personnel from each individual team, which may include a player's talent, health, work ethic, leadership, football IQ and ability to compete. All are determining factors in a prospect's evaluation.
In short, our office oversees prospect eligibility and club compliance, and the individual clubs determine whether they will draft or sign a rookie prospect.
What's Different for 2015
In addition to comprehensive NFL security, football operations, and team background checks on all prospective players who attended the national and regional combines, we have implemented an Early Intervention Process with those prospects who have been reported, charged, or convicted of domestic violence and/or sexual assault issues.
Players with domestic violence/sexual assault in their background have been asked (both pre-, and post- draft) on several occasions to visit the league office and meet with a range of NFL personnel for education about our policy and to put a system in place to assist the prospect in a successful transition to the NFL. Expectations are established, resources committed and made available, and a work plan may be developed for the prospect once he is drafted or signed.
Education around domestic violence/sexual assault will start at the Draft, with a focus on character.
All prospects attending the Draft in Chicago are required to participate in the NFL's domestic violence/sexual assault education program. This establishes a foundation for ongoing education about and awareness of these issues.
For those prospects not attending the Draft in Chicago, all drafted and undrafted players will participate in the domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse education at the annual Rookie Symposium and Club offseason programs.
While in Chicago, potential draftees also will participate in community visits that are linked to causes the league supports.
Prospects at the Draft will attend a mentoring luncheon where they will be paired with former NFL players. A similar session occurred at the scouting combine this past February in Indianapolis.
Key to these efforts is the message that life in the NFL is vastly different than life as a college athlete. The expectations, demands and responsibilities increase exponentially. In addition to athletic ability, those who play football professionally are expected to embrace and embody the NFL's values - Respect, Integrity, Responsibility to Team, and Resiliency - both on and off the field.
Our overarching goal is to positively impact society on the issues of domestic violence and sexual assault. We started with our internal NFL family, reaching more than 5,000 people already, but we have expectations that are much broader than that. We want to be a leader in these areas, and we absolutely embrace this responsibility.
Sincerely,
Anna Isaacson
SVP of Social Responsibility
