Poll: 29 percent think Goodell should go

Twenty-nine percent of people believe NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should resign over the league’s handling of the punishment handed down to former Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice over domestic violence charges, according to an NBC-Marist poll released Thursday.  

Though members of Congress have piled criticism onto the league, only a few lawmakers have called on Goodell to resign. California Democratic Reps. Jackie Speier and Janice Hahn this week said he should step down. 

{mosads}Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) has said he should seriously consider stepping down. 

“I believe the buck, not just the big bucks, stops with the commissioner. Because he has failed, Goodell must go: Either resign or be ousted by owners,” Hahn said on the floor earlier this week. 

The NFL suspended Rice indefinitely last week after video was released showing him punching his now-wife unconscious in February. Before the release, the league had initially only handed down a two-game suspension. Questions still remain about when the league first obtained the full video.  

Nearly every female senator recently sent a letter to Goodell asking him to create a zero-tolerance policy for domestic violence. Others have introduced legislation to remove the nonprofit status of the NFL and other professional sports teams and use the money to support domestic violence outreach. 

While 53 percent of people disapprove of the way the league handled the incident, 86 percent said it has not changed the amount of football they watch. 

The poll surveyed 606 people from Sept. 16-17 and has a 4.7 percent margin of error.