CNN "Wolf" - Transcript: Syria

Interview

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And joining me now to talk about this is Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. She's one of the senators who signed that letter.

Senator, thanks for being with us. And tell us if you've gotten a response from the commissioner here.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D), MINNESOTA: Well, Brianna, we haven't gotten a direct response yet but I think many people have been hearing the news out there. And one of the reasons the women centers came together, just as we came together to pass the Violence Against Women Act, was to say that these players are role models for young men all across the country. And this is not only a tragedy, but it's an opportunity for the NFL to change their policies. And really when you think about this, this is a celebrity player but we know this happens all the time in America and we need to simply change the culture. And we can't change the culture when people are getting just small suspensions for acts like this as we saw on the video.

KEILAR: You're taking a strong stance as well against the NFL's stated policy of the six game ban, saying that it's too short. The NFL's policy is this. It says, "six games for a first offense, with consideration given to mitigating factors, as well as a longer suspension when circumstances warrant. A second offense will result in banishment from the NFL." So these rules, when you look at them, senator, they're for all NFL personnel. This isn't just for players. Do you think that players should be treated differently because they are, as you say, role models?

KLOBUCHAR: No, I think you look at all employees when you look at some kind of a policy for your business. But in this case, obviously, the NFL hadn't done all their homework. When they actually saw the video, they knew that the act was so atrocious, the way that he beat up his then fiance, it was so outrageous that they ended up releasing him from the team. So, to me, this also gets to the point of, why didn't they try to get all the evidence. Clearly there's reports that they had that tape within their midst and there's also, when you're an employer, you really want to try to get the facts. I know as a prosecutor that so many times the victims in these cases they can recant, they change their stories because they're scared, because they're scared economically. This happens all the time. And you have to understand that if you're going to have a policy in place on domestic violence. And I think at some point we know the -- Ray Rice knew about this video. We knew that there were a lot of people that knew about this video. So it seems outrageous to me that they didn't try harder to get a copy of the video.

KEILAR: Can I ask you, and that's really interesting for you to say, coming from the perspective of a former prosecutor, but I want to ask you something I think a lot of people have been shocked. Reporters went to the Ravens' game last night and they found that overwhelmingly it was women who were wearing the Ray Rice jersey. And when reporters interviewed a lot of the people in the stands about this, many said, you know what, this is a private matter between this couple. They are getting counseling, as we've heard. Do you think there's any room for second chances after counseling as the NFL currently gives right now?

KLOBUCHAR: There is always room for second chances in America for everyone unless you're put away for the rest of your life. I think the point here is that the NFL mishandled this. they pretty much admitted that. And how they handled the discipline in the first game - first case with only a two-game suspension, with how they've handled the way they then gave the six-game suspension without having tried to seek out the videotape, and now when they saw the videotape they did release him from the team. And of course people hope that he gets his act together and that they get counseling and everything works out better for them. But at some point, when you have someone playing football, when a videotape like - is out there for the world to see and for every young kid in America to see, you have to take action.

KEILAR: And let me ask you a final question from the perspective of being a former prosecutor. You said a lot of people saw that tape. You seemed doubtful that the NFL didn't see it or didn't have the chance to. Why is that? Why are you doubtful?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, because everyone knows this happened on an elevator and most Americans know there are a lot of times there's cameras on elevators. I've seen them myself. So at some point you say, duh, there's probably a tape of what happened in the elevator. You know there's a tape from the outside. You want to do everything you can. maybe you can't take an action, but you can suspend the player while you're trying to get the evidence. And that's simply not what happened here. And I think it is good that the owners have appointed former FBI Director Mueller to look at this thoroughly. He's a man of integrity. I think that we need to get the facts and the evidence so people understand that no organization is on a pedestal, that no one is above the law and that they have to make sure that they weren't treating this employee or others differently just because they were the NFL.

KEILAR: Should Commissioner Goodell resign?

KLOBUCHAR: I think, again, as a former prosecutor, that you have to look at the facts and the evidence. Those are being collected now and that's something I think we're going to learn more and more about this as time goes on.

And I really say this as a football fan, Brianna. I grew up watching the Vikings. My dad's a sports reporter.

KEILAR: Yes.

KLOBUCHAR: His whole life he reported on the Vikings. And I get to actually even go to some of the games and we're sure excited they won last week. That being said, we want to keep our sports as wholesome as we can. In a day when they're all out (ph) about money, we still want to keep these players as role models. And certainly this was mishandled by the NFL. I think they're the first to admit this. And they need to change their policies and the system going forward. And if there's any silver lining here, it will be that America is looking at this issue of domestic violence again and realize just how horrific it is.

KEILAR: Yes, we sure are sure looking. Senator Klobuchar, thanks for being with us.

KLOBUCHAR: Thank you very much.

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