{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.cantwell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-about-maria?ContentRecord_id=2ef90e00-da54-4e29-a26b-de8e8407b51c", "Congress to Pro Sports: Toughen Up the Rules", "2014-12-03", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Maria Cantwell", "C000127", "www.cantwell.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.03.14\n    \t\t\t Congress to Pro Sports: Toughen Up the Rules  \n    \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n    \t\t\tCongress is stepping into the debate about pro athletes and domestic violence.\r\nTuesday, the United States Senate called top leaders of pro sports leagues to Washington.   \u00a0   Lawmakers want to see league leaders put tougher and clearer domestic violence policies in place.   \u00a0   NFL star Ray Rice recently had his indefinite suspension overturned in the wake of his domestic violence case. His public apology to his wife making a fresh round of headlines, has become the most visible face of the problem of domestic abuse at the hands of pro athletes.   \u00a0   Now the U.S. Senate is stepping in. Top officials from the NFL, NBA, and MLB were all on Capitol Hill.   \u00a0  \u201cIt has to stop and that's what we're here for,\u201d said Sen. Jay Rockefeller.    \u00a0   Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell says the Ray Rice incident shows the NFL\u2019s policies for dealing with domestic violence aren't good enough.   \u00a0  \u201cWell I think the NFL needs to have a zero tolerance policy and a consistent plan as to how that is implemented,\u201d said Cantwell.    \u00a0   In emotional testimony, NFL executive Troy Vincent told the Senate panel his mother was a victim of domestic violence and promised the league is committed to do better.   \u00a0  \u201cI relate to the 20 million victims, the survivors of domestic violence and abuse in every community across our great nation,\u201d said Vincent.    \u00a0   Congress does have some influence here. The pro sports leagues have tax\u00a0exempt status.    Sen. Corey Booker has introduced a bill that would eliminate that and use the money raised to fund domestic abuse programs", 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": ["http://www.cantwell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-about-maria?ContentRecord_id=2ef90e00-da54-4e29-a26b-de8e8407b51c"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.146307844668627, "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"}