National Football League

Roger Goodell: Trump's attitudes toward women hard to explain to my daughters

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he found it tough to explain President-elect Donald Trump's comments on women to his daughters, according to The New York Times.

In October, a recording surfaced of Trump bragging about sexual assault, saying he could grab women by the genitals because he was a celebrity. Trump later defended the comments as "locker-room talk."

Goodell said those types of comments would make the NFL's goal of reducing domestic violence incidents within the league more difficult. He also said it was difficult to explain to his family.

“It makes my job harder at home too,” Goodell said at the Times' DealBook conference on Thursday. “I have twin daughters and a wife so I have to explain that to them. So yes, on that front. Does it make it harder publicly? Listen, I think our country has to have more respect for one another, and we have to unite.”

Goodell and the NFL have come under fire for being too lenient on domestic violence after high-profile cases such as Ray Rice, Greg Hardy and more recently Josh Brown were penalized lightly.

On Thursday, Goodell noted he thinks people do not understand the complexity of domestic violence.

Goodell also said the impact of Trump's presidency on the NFL was still unknown. Some players spoke out against the newly elected president after Election Day, and Goodell affirmed their prerogative to be involved in politics, according to the Times.

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