White House says NFL needs to 'get a handle' on domestic violence

With the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell under public fire for their handling of several recent cases of players involved in domestic violence, the White House handed down some criticism of its own, per CBSNews.

Calling the recent revelations "deeply troubling," the White House stressed the importance of the league getting the issue under control.

The NFL has an obligation not only to their fans but to the American people to properly discipline anyone involved in domestic violence or child abuse and more broadly, gain control of the situation. Many of these professional athletes are marketed as role models to young people and so their behavior does have the potential to influence these young people, and it's one of the many reasons it's important that the league get a handle on this and have a zero tolerance.

The White House has a new initiative called "It's on Us", explaining in a statement that the program "aims to fundamentally shift the way we think about sexual assault, by inspiring everyone to see it as their responsibility to do something, big or small, to prevent it."

In efforts to get the issue under control, the NFL has made changes to its personal conduct policy involving assault, battery, domestic violence and sexual assualt, increasing punishments to a six-game suspension for a first offense and lifetime ban for a second.

However, what followed was one of the most troubling weeks of off-field issues the league has ever had, confirming that there is still much more to be done in addressing the issue going forward.