"The NFL must finally make good on its promise and do better" - NFL receives stern warning in letter from six AGs

Roger Goodell has never had a firm control of the NFL as a human interest point of view. His uneven punishments for different wrongdoings always lean towards punishing the players (aka the entire NFL product itself) and never the billionaire owners.

It's accepted as canon that the most spectacular athletes of America's favorite sport have an organizational leader that fails them, the fans that fuel the product financially, and the people most directly affected by his lack of leadership.

The Brian Flores racism-based class action lawsuit story has taken all of the news headlines of late, but a sliver of media space has been saved for the NFL's unchecked disregard for female employees.

No less than six state AGs wrote in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he must take "swift action to improve workplace conditions and protect its female employees". That the word 'swift' was used is beyond damning to the league's existing protocols to deal with such issues.

Per the letter:

"Female employees described experiencing unwanted touching from male bosses, attending parties where prostitutes were hired, facing unfair criticism based on stereotypes, being passed over for promotions based on their gender, and being pushed out for complaining about discrimination..."

"In fact, some former female employees have since learned that there were no records of their complaints of gender discrimination..."

So, for those keeping score at home, we have sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexism, and unfound/unfair accusations of insubordination going unchecked by the NFL commissioner.

The response from the league hit at least 101 key PR checkpoints. Per the NFL, they share "the commitment of the attorneys general to ensuring that all of our workplaces -- including the league office and 32 clubs -- are diverse, inclusive and free from discrimination and harassment."

Here's what NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a response to the AGs' legal warnings:

"We look forward to sharing with the attorneys general the policies, practices, protocols, education programs and partnerships we have implemented to act on this commitment and confirm that the league office and our clubs maintain a respectful workplace where all our employees, including women, have an opportunity to thrive..."

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The NFL has always been involved in legal snafus

With a sport like the NFL, where so much money is involved and each franchise legally operates as its own entity (thus being subject to antitrust laws), there is always going to be a callous constitutional confrontation.

Right now, it appears as though the league is being overcome by an avalanche of moral issues regarding the way women and minorities are being treated within certain individual organizations and league offices.

In this day and age, if these issues aren't corrected, Goodell's judgment date will come. The NFL produces between $10-20 billion of revenue year in and year out. As a society, we've advanced enough to do away with organizations that operate as if it were still the early 20th century.

The NFL isn't going anywhere, but no one man is important enough to the league to not be left behind if that's what is called for. Again, judgment day is coming for Goodell if these sorts of letters still need to be written in the coming years.