Congresswoman Seeks Hearing on Sports Handling of Domestic Abuse

A U.S. congresswoman called today for a hearing into how professional sports leagues handle domestic violence as the National Football League continued to deal with fallout from the Ray Rice case.

U.S. Representative Diana DeGette of Colorado, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, sent a letter to Republican committee leaders seeking the public hearing.

"We could play an important role in standing up for victims of domestic violence by asking professional sports leagues to explain in a public hearing how they are acting to educate their players about violence against women, what they are doing to prevent them from engaging in such violence and whether they are administering appropriate punishments for athletes who commit violence against women," DeGette wrote.

The letter, released by the congresswoman's office, was addressed to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania.

Video showed running back Rice knocking out his then fiancee, Janay Palmer, with a single punch in a casino hotel elevator on Feb. 15. Rice, who at first was suspended by the NFL for two games, was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 8 and suspended indefinitely by the NFL after the video surfaced.