Former Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said Friday that his comments were "taken out of context" when a newspaper reported that he said NFL teams didn't discipline players in "hundreds and hundreds" of domestic violence incidents during his 30-year career.
Angelo appeared on the radio show "Kap & Haugh" Friday morning to clarify comments he made that were published in USA Today Thursday. He said that his "hundreds and hundreds" remark was "totally taken out of context."
"I was making a point that wasn't about domestic violence specifically," he said. "It was about a lot of things over a lot of years that have changed and domestic violence was one of them."
Angelo was the Bears' general manager from 2001 to 2011. He entered the league as a scout with Dallas in 1980, worked as a scout for the New York Giants from 1982 to 1986, and was Tampa Bay's director of player personnel for Tampa Bay from 1987 to 2001.
The newspaper reported that Angelo expressed remorse for ignoring reported domestic violence cases.
"I made a mistake," Angelo told the newspaper. "I was human. I was part of it. I'm not proud of it."
On Friday, Angelo said that the USA Today article was supposed to focus on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whom Angelo fully supports in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal. Angelo said he was "blindsided" by the article and called the USA Today writer to express his disappointment in the way the story turned out.
"I don't want to say this fellow twisted my words but that was never my point," he said, adding that the "hundreds and hundreds" comment was "a way to embellish how things have changed over 30 years."
On Wednesday, Goodell met with the full body of NFL owners for the first time since several missteps by the league involving personal conduct incidents. The agenda was filled with discussion of domestic violence and discipline for misbehavior.
"Our business is to win games," Angelo told the newspaper. "We've got to win games, and the commissioner's job is to make sure the credibility of the National Football League is held in the highest esteem. But to start with that, you have to know who's representing the shield. We got our priorities a little out of order."
Former GM: NFL domestic violence comments "taken out of context"
/ CBS News
Former Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said Friday that his comments were "taken out of context" when a newspaper reported that he said NFL teams didn't discipline players in "hundreds and hundreds" of domestic violence incidents during his 30-year career.
Angelo appeared on the radio show "Kap & Haugh" Friday morning to clarify comments he made that were published in USA Today Thursday. He said that his "hundreds and hundreds" remark was "totally taken out of context."
"I was making a point that wasn't about domestic violence specifically," he said. "It was about a lot of things over a lot of years that have changed and domestic violence was one of them."
Angelo was the Bears' general manager from 2001 to 2011. He entered the league as a scout with Dallas in 1980, worked as a scout for the New York Giants from 1982 to 1986, and was Tampa Bay's director of player personnel for Tampa Bay from 1987 to 2001.
The newspaper reported that Angelo expressed remorse for ignoring reported domestic violence cases.
"I made a mistake," Angelo told the newspaper. "I was human. I was part of it. I'm not proud of it."
On Friday, Angelo said that the USA Today article was supposed to focus on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whom Angelo fully supports in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal. Angelo said he was "blindsided" by the article and called the USA Today writer to express his disappointment in the way the story turned out.
"I don't want to say this fellow twisted my words but that was never my point," he said, adding that the "hundreds and hundreds" comment was "a way to embellish how things have changed over 30 years."
On Wednesday, Goodell met with the full body of NFL owners for the first time since several missteps by the league involving personal conduct incidents. The agenda was filled with discussion of domestic violence and discipline for misbehavior.
"Our business is to win games," Angelo told the newspaper. "We've got to win games, and the commissioner's job is to make sure the credibility of the National Football League is held in the highest esteem. But to start with that, you have to know who's representing the shield. We got our priorities a little out of order."
More from CBS News