After much scrutiny about the team-by-team interview questions during the NFL Combine, CBS reports that a league-wide investigation has yielded no specific instances of a violation, per a league official. The incident was looked into after players told reporters that they had been asked about their sexual orientation.
Earlier this month, New York’s attorney general wrote to the Commissioner that it was illegal for his teams to inquire about the sexual orientation of its prospective employees.
According to a written statement by Senior VP of Communications Greg Aiello, “Our review has no established any specific violations, but we have made it clear to our clubs what is acceptable when interviewing potential players and other job candidates.”
Roger Goodell also issued a public statement at league meetings stating: “We [the NFL] are a professional organization. That’s unacceptable. We will do things the right way. We will give them the proper education and training. I hope that will solve the problem.”
The problem is the questions posed to Colorado’s Nick Kasa, Michigan’s Denard Robinson, and Michigan State’s Le’Veon Bell during their Combine interviews. These three were among the players asked these inappropriate questions such as, “Do you like girls?”
A league source familiar with the investigation has also discussed the possibility of leaving the investigation open to possible action in the future, should information surface about a violation occurring.
For now, the NFL is closing the books and moving on from yet another hiccup during the off-season. It is hard to fathom that any other job in the America could get away with asking such a highly controversial question during a job interview. However, the players cannot file a lawsuit against the very company they are training to land a position with. It appears as if the league is going to just get away with brushing the incident under the rug and slapping the owner’s on the wrist. Goodell and company should use this as teaching moment to avoid bigger problems during future Combine interviews.
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