Chiefs' Andy Reid hopes something good can come of NFL's recent domestic violence issues

Everyone who follows the NFL (and many who don't) knows what's going on in the league right now. There are a number of players (Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald) who are involved in issues involving domestic violence, and that issue has come to the forefront in the NFL.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked about these issues in his Wednesday media session. He is an interesting person to hear from considering his history with Laurel House in Philadelphia, which works to end domestic violence. Read a portion of his Q&A below.

Q: What do you think about the issues going on in the NFL?

Reid: If we could just say that this has enlightened us on the issue. If we can come out saying that because I think this is part of life today. Not that it hasn't been in the past. It's been here a while. If it can help make things better, which I think it will, overall that's what we're all striving for right now and in particular the domestic abuse and child abuse and those situations. I think it could end up being a positive for society and for the NFL. I'm glad it's being addressed and I think positive things can happen.

Q: Is it being addressed in the right way?

Reid: I'm not here to judge that other than to I think eyes are opened. Someone asked me about Michael Vick and I mentioned his situation. The one thing that I think is positive about Michael's situation is that it enlightened people on dogfighting and so then action took place. I've been involved with the domestic abuse part of this for many years with Laurel House so I'm familiar with it. I've seen both sides of it and talked to people from both sides of it. It needs to come to the front here. I'm glad that to see that it is from that standpoint.

Q: Does the NFL have a responsibility to be proactive?

Reid: They are proactive. They're out there doing things. The players are talked to all the time about these things. For the most part the guys are doing a good job with it. I think the NFL is a strong organization and they probably feel the same way, if this help can help, that's what we're all looking for. We're in the fix-it business as coaches so if you can help make somebody a better person and make the world a little better, amen to that.

Q: Do you address this with the players?

Reid: I make sure we keep it open. I've always done that with the players. I talked to them about any situation that's out there. We normally hit these things before they happen and talk about it in the offseason. [Player development assistant] BJ [Stabler] does a good job of doing his job and keeping players aware of things too. We try to keep communication open which is important.