{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/senate-committee-puts-spotlight-on-domestic-violence", "Senate Committee Puts Spotlight on Domestic Violence", "2014-12-02", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senate Committee Puts Spotlight on Domestic Violence \r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                Tuesday, December 2, 2014\r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            \r\n                  \r\n                    By:\u00a0\r\n                    Steve Eder\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            WASHINGTON \u2014 With deepening concerns about domestic violence among professional athletes, members of a United States Senate committee on Tuesday chastised the four major sports leagues for failing to police their players and falling short in supporting victims.\r\nThe problem, the members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said, has come into sharp focus in the nearly three months since video surfaced of Ray Rice punching his then-fianc\u00e9e in a hotel elevator. The senators called on the leagues and player associations \u2014 which were represented at the packed hearing \u2014 to be tougher addressing domestic violence and to do more for victims.\r\n\u201cWhen a celebrity athlete is charged with committing domestic violence, it uniquely reverberates through society in unique ways,\u201d said Senator Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia, the chairman of the committee.\r\nThe hearing came five days after an arbitrator overturned the National Football League\u2019s indefinite suspension of Rice, calling it \u201carbitrary.\u201d The ruling marked the latest setback for N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has faced widespread criticism in light of the Rice case for not doing enough to curb domestic violence. The league has pledged to overhaul its personal conduct policy.\r\nLast month, The New York Times\u00a0reported in a two-part series\u00a0that N.F.L. teams often have close relationships with local law enforcement agencies, which can favor the player and isolate victims. Further, The Times reported on how victims can feel trapped, in part, by the close team culture and the emphasis on avoiding distractions.\r\nBoth the players and the leagues came under fire. Members of the committee cautioned that players should not \u201chide\u201d behind collective bargaining agreements to avoid suspensions. Some even suggested that the N.F.L.\u2019s tax-exempt status should be revoked if it does not improve its handling of domestic violence cases.\r\nSenator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, said the domestic abuse issues extend to all of the leagues \u2014 and that they must do more to hold players accountable.\r\n\u201cPerpetrators know if they can only get their victims to recant, refuse to cooperate, threaten their financial future, threaten the futures of their families\u2019 financial status, or put them on an airplane to Venezuela \u2014 if they can accomplish those things \u2014 then nothing will happen,\u201d McCaskill said.\r\nStill, the N.F.L. and the Rice case were at the center of the hearing, with Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, calling the N.F.L\u2019s handling of the Rice case \u201ccompletely inadequate\u201d and sending a \u201cmixed message\u201d to fans.\r\nEach of the four major sports leagues \u2014 the N.F.L., Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League \u2014 were represented by an executive as well as a players\u2019 association official.\r\nTroy Vincent, a former N.F.L. player who is now a league executive, testified that the league and its players understand the anger and that reforms are underway. In light of the Rice case, the N.F.L. has announced several measures, including hiring domestic violence experts, introducing more counseling and mandating stricter penalties for players caught committing domestic violence.\r\n\u201cWe recognize that we have to break the culture of silence,\u201d said Vincent, who choked back tears earlier in the hearing as spoke of abuse in his own home as a child.\r\nNone of the league commissioners appeared at the hearing \u2014 a point that drew the ire of Rockefeller, who will soon retire at the end of his fifth term.\r\n\u201cWhen witnesses refuse to show up and testify, my experience tells me that they are afraid of something,\u201d Rockefeller said in his opening statement. \u201cGiven the scope and severity of this problem, I find their absence troubling.\u201d\r\n            \r\n             \r\n            \r\n            \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/senate-committee-puts-spotlight-on-domestic-violence"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6724039558321238, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}