NBA, MLB won't be blindsided

NBA COMMISSIONER Adam Silver has read the writing on the wall.

In reaction to NFL counterpart Roger Goodell's months of fumbling the issue of domestic violence and the extremely negative response the NFL has received, Silver is making plans for the NBA to come up with concrete policies to confront possible situations.

In a conversation yesterday with ESPN writer Ian Begley, Silver said The Association is going to take a fresh look at its domestic-violence policies.

Begley tweeted that Silver said the NBA takes lessons "from other leagues' experiences. We're studying everything that's been happening with the NFL."

Silver's comment comes on the heels of baseball commissioner Bud Selig meeting with the players association on Friday to open negotiations on policies concerning domestic violence.

"Domestic violence is one of the worst forms of societal conduct," Selig said. "We understand the responsibility of baseball to quickly and firmly address off-field conduct by our players, even potentially in situations which the criminal justice system does not do so."

Welcome to the new reality of the relationship between professional sports and domestic violence.

If you are NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, MLS commissioner Don Garber, NASCAR president Mike Helton or even the guy running the Arena Football League, you would do well to follow the examples of Selig and Silver so as to not be caught unprepared for a storm that will inevitably land on your desk.

The NFL is taking the heat for the recent rash of high-profile domestic-violence cases involving some of its players, but anyone who believes this issue is limited to the NFL is being ridiculously stupid.

Domestic violence is not a pro-football problem. It is a problem that infects every segment of our society.

It is not a selective sin particular to any racial, religious, socio-economic or lifestyle status.

Unfortunately, it happens everywhere. And if you run a highly visible pro sports league, you would have to be a complete idiot overstuffed with hubris to sincerely believe that it has not already infiltrated your game.

The fact that the U.S. Soccer Federation has just come under fire for allowing women's national-team goalkeeper Hope Solo to play in a match last week despite being scheduled to go on trial for two counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse shows how far-reaching this issue is.

In the past 2 years, at least two former WNBA players - Deanna Nolan and Chamique Holdsclaw - were arrested after domestic-violence incidents.

Pro sports are reaching a breaking point.

Some are saying that Goodell's career is at stake because he so messed up the handling of the recent rash of domestic-violence incidents involving NFL players.

The NFL has been scrambling to come up with a punitive process that society, and more important, corporate sponsors won't be turned off by.

The NFL was taken down by the arrogant belief that it could operate like it did in the old days, before every celebrity transgression became instant fodder for social media.

In today's culture of YouTube videos and Twitter pictures, the disturbing messages associated with domestic violence come with disturbing images captured in high-def.

A picture is worth a thousand words and millions of dollars.

Most of these sports have general discipline policies, but none aimed directly at domestic violence.

Goodell had no syllabus to guide him and then ended up looking like a buffoon as the league threw together a series of evolving policies that has made it look clueless.

Silver, who last season replaced David Stern as NBA commissioner, drew high praise for his decisive handling of the crisis created by former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

With no precedent to guide him, Silver averted a crisis that could have torn the league apart during its most critical marketing time - the playoffs.

Whether or not you agree that Silver driving the NBA Board of Governors to force the sale of the Clippers was a fair decision, it was a business decision that likely saved The Association billions of dollars in potential lost revenue because of negative pushback.

Silver and Selig have seen how the NFL's shield has been tarnished by its lack of clarity and transparency during its domestic-abuse crisis.

They know that in the current atmosphere, cases of domestic violence may require positions that prevent players who are indicted and going to trial from representing the league until their legal cases are resolved.

The NFL cases in which Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy have been suspended with pay while awaiting trial showed us that due process is no longer an acceptable excuse.

Corporations that are paying millions of dollars to be connected to the positive images of pro sports don't want to hear about fairness when they are receiving criticism for being associated with negatives.

If this is the standard that has been set, and it appears to be, it is going to be virtually impossible for these other leagues to not fall in line, lest they be branded as not being serious about the issue of domestic violence.

That would be a sponsorship and public-relations nightmare. It would simply be bad business.

This issue is not going away any time soon. It is just a matter of time before the commissioner of every sports league is going to be asked, "OK, so what are you going to do concerning issues of domestic violence?"

When it comes, there better be a well-thought-out response and a plan of action in place.