The National Football League was urged by six state attorneys generals to improve working conditions for female employees following allegations that the organization is a hostile workplace for the women.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should take “swift action” in response to reports that dozens of former employees described a “pervasive culture of sexism and widespread workplace discrimination,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement on Wednesday.
“With 1,100 employees at the NFL, 37% of whom are women and 30% of whom are people of color, it is imperative that you ensure that all employees are treated equally, fairly and with the dignity they deserve,” the AGs of New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota said in a joint letter to Goodell.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the letter.
“In 2014, we watched in horror as the video of Ray Rice brutally attacking his fiancé was made public,” James said. “In the aftermath of that disturbing incident and too many others, the NFL promised to do better, take gender violence seriously, and improve conditions for women within the league. We now know that they did nothing of the sort.”
The New York Times reported in February that more than 30 former women who worked for the league described a “stifling, deeply ingrained corporate culture that demoralized some female employees, drove some to quit in frustration and left many feeling brushed aside.”
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