NFL lobbyists go on offense

     
      "After a tough year in the headlines, and with a major movie about football concussions arriving in theaters this Christmas, the NFL is going on offense this fall with Washington policymakers—starting with a series of closed-door meetings with key House and Senate committees this week.
      Cynthia Hogan, the league’s top lobbyist and a former senior attorney to Vice President Joe Biden, told POLITICO the NFL would be briefing the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Commerce Committee on player safety and pro football’s new efforts to pay for research into head injuries. The two panels have jurisdiction over sports-related commercial issues...
      The NFL has the only full-time lobbying operation run by a major sports league in Washington, a four-person shop that moved last December into new downtown offices about six blocks from the White House, sharing space with Covington& Burling, which is also the main outside law firm for the league.
      The lobbying shop hasn’t lacked work.  In the past few years, the NFL has come under fire from lawmakers who have criticized the sport’s violence, Commissioner Roger Goodell’s handling of player discipline, and the offensive implications of the Washington Redskins’ nickname. Several Democratic senators have led the charge, from Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein demanding a "zero-tolerance policy" for players who commit domestic violence to Maria Cantwell and Harry Reid pressuring Goodell into taking a stand on whether the Redskins should drop their mascot."


Full story here.