Hagel Orders Military To Examine NFL Sponsorship Amid Abuse Scandals

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel delivers a speech during a joint press statement with Romanian Defense Minister Mircea Dusa following the visit of the USS Vella Gulf, in Constanta, Romania, Thursday, June 5, 2014... US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel delivers a speech during a joint press statement with Romanian Defense Minister Mircea Dusa following the visit of the USS Vella Gulf, in Constanta, Romania, Thursday, June 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Octav Ganea, Mediafax) ROMANIA OUT MORE LESS
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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel asked his staff for information about the relationship between the U.S. military and the National Football League amid multiple ongoing domestic violence scandals, CNN reported on Friday.

His request comes in the wake of allegations that have been brought against multiple players in the NFL. According to CNN, the Pentagon review coincided with a comment made by a senior Obama administration official who said the league needs to “get a handle on” the situation because NFL players often serve as role models.

A senior defense official told CNN that “the secretary wants to fully understand that relationship, in case he decides to make some changes to it.”

The military, according to CNN, has a longstanding and high-profile relationship with the NFL but recent allegations conflict with the military’s own zero-tolerance policy with regard to domestic abuse.

The military is a large supporter of the NFL with the Army alone spending around $10 million a year in advertising, according to CNN.

The network reported the White House is also keeping track of the scandal. A senior administration official told CNN that the situation is “deeply troubling.”

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Notable Replies

  1. He might get away with yanking this from NFL. But if he ever thinks about pulling out of NASCAR, he will be buried under an avalanche of poorly written, and misspelled hate mail. And tweets. And Facebook posts, And, ah… you get it.

  2. When we had a draft, I don’t remember the military spending $$multi-millions on “sponsorships”.

  3. The military already has enough problems attracting and retaining women, so it makes sense not to align themselves with yet another organization which is itself associated with violence against and abuse of women.

  4. So the military is taking the same position as McDonalds and Anheuser Busch.

    Let the selective Fox freakout commence.

  5. An institution that has a chronic women abuse problem is precisely the type the US Military should sponsor.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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