NFL: Owners approve new personal conduct policy

IRVING, Texas — NFL owners moved quickly and unanimously Wednesday to change the league’s personal conduct policy. Now the question is how, or whether, the players union responds.

The league announced it will hire a special counsel for investigations and conduct to oversee initial discipline, but Commissioner Roger Goodell will retain authority to rule on appeals. The commissioner also may appoint a panel of independent experts to participate in appeals.

Amid questions over his handling of domestic violence cases involving Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, the union wants Goodell removed entirely from the disciplinary process. The players believe any changes to the personal conduct policy should be part of labor negotiations.

Asked whether he anticipated a challenge from the union, Goodell deferred to NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, who said the owners’ decision was “entirely consistent with the collective bargaining agreement.”

“I don’t know whether the union will challenge it or not, but we’ve given it a lot of thought,” Pash said. “And I would hope they don’t challenge. We’d be happy to sit down with them again tomorrow if they wanted to have some further conversations about it. I don’t think there’s any need for legal challenges.”

The union has sought negotiations with the NFL on any revamping of the policy, and said Tuesday it would “reserve the right to take any and all actions” should the owners act unilaterally. The union could consider the vote by owners a violation of the collective bargaining agreement reached in 2011, giving the union cause to file a grievance.

Among the union’s options is pursuing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. The players could argue this policy is a change in terms and conditions of employment; the National Labor Relations Act says such changes in unionized situations are subject to collective bargaining.

“Our union has not been offered the professional courtesy of seeing the NFL’s new personal conduct policy before it hit the presses,” the union said in a statement issued after Wednesday’s vote. “Their unilateral decision and conduct today is the only thing that has been consistent over the past few months.”