For the 28 players who opted to accept the invitation to attend the draft in Chicago, they won’t have an option when it comes to submitting to an domestic violence education session. According to Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today, the NFL will provide the mandatory training to all of the incoming rookies who show up for the draft. It’s the same 45-minute video presentation that all NFL employees were required to watch last year.
“I think there are expectations for being part of the National Football League. And I think just like the prospects that come to the draft -- they do community service and have media interaction -- this was another situation that we thought was important enough to make a requirement,” NFL vice president of social responsibility Anna Isaacson told Jones.
Players not attending the draft will receive the training at the rookie symposium. Which raises an obvious question: Why not provide the training to all draft picks at the rookie symposium? Only 28 are at the draft; more than 250 will be present for the symposium.
The answer is obvious. Providing the training to the players at the draft creates an opportunity for a little more positive P.R. as the league tries to continue its recovery from last year’s debacle that forced positive changes like, for example, the creation of a 45-minute presentation to be shown to all incoming rookies, starting with the guys who chose to attend the draft.