My father is an auto mechanic with only an employee or two. One time one of his workers got a DUI for the 2nd or 3rd time. What did my dad do to punish him? Nothing. The courts did. But if the guy couldn't get to work because he lost his license, then he would be out of a job. The consequences for wrongdoing weren't for my father, the employer, to decide. That's why we have a justice system.

I would agree with the anger today toward NFL Commissioner Goodell if the NFL was a judge or a lawmaker. But they are an employer. The U.S. has fallen into the norm that sports (or business, or entertainment...) organizations need to distribute justice. And when they don't assume this role, they then have this said about them: "...a football organization that has condoned domestic violence for years."

I guess my dad condones drunk driving then, because he didn't fine or suspend his employee.

When I shared this opinion on social media, a couple of people responded that the difference between my father and the NFL is that the NFL is public. As one responder said, "In this case, the public is the judge and since Goodell thinks it's okay to cover up an incident of abuse, we're letting him know that we aren't interested in his services."

Yes, the NFL is public, but I don't understand what difference that makes. There are many other public industries that don't fine or suspend their members when they commit crimes. They don't, nor should the NFL have to divvy out punishments to their employees, because this is a matter of institutional role -- not about the NFL condoning violence against women.

Yet the above linked article also states that "Protests mount... for Roger Goodell..." to resign. Shouldn't those concerned about domestic abuse mount protests for the judge or prosecutor who let offender Ray Rice off and truly covered up this incident?

By getting angry at the NFL, or Goodell, people are side-tracking the real issue.

I guess the bottom line is that since it's been established -- regardless of why or how -- that the NFL should do something, the fact that it didn't is all that matters. And maybe since Goodell should have known to do something, but didn’t, that this means he is a bad man for the job.

But if that's the bottom line, then that's too bad. Because buying into it requires a suspension of the reasoning about the role of the NFL or the real problem being the justice system. And so we take a detour on the road toward seeing offenders adequately handled for committing violence.