Perhaps the key takeaway Thursday from the NFL’s Football Operations and Player Health and Safety media briefing to reporters who cover the league was that many of its staffers have returned to work at their Midtown Manhattan headquarters after four people were fatally shot at the building July 28, when a gunman apparently targeted league employees. None of the deceased worked for the NFL, which shares its building with other companies, however one person who works for the league was injured and hospitalized with serious injuries.
NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller, who oversees player health and safety, said the league has been extremely appreciative for the outpouring of support it has received from many quarters.
“As we’ve gone through what has been a very traumatic last couple weeks for our employees here, the fact that so many people from around the country – partners, members of the media, clubs, friends – have reached out and sent their good wishes means a great deal,” said Miller.
“Not having been in this position before for many of us – and hopefully never again – I did learn the lesson that hearing from people, expressing positive sentiments and well wishes really makes a difference.”
Miller also said the NFL, in conjunction with its building managers, is implementing augmented security measures.
“We’re very lucky that our security chief, Cathy Lanier, the former police chief in Washington, D.C., has tremendous experience in this space and that we have terrific partners in the building as we look for ways to make it even more secure than it was before,” he said.
Lanier was head of the D.C. police from 2007 until her retirement in 2016, when she took her position at the NFL. That period included an incident in 2013, when she and the force had to navigate a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard in the Southeastern portion of the District that left 12 people dead.
Miller said an NFL security committee will make a full report to the league’s ownership regarding recommendations moving forward, not only in New York City but throughout the league.
After employees worked remotely in the aftermath of the incident, a league spokesman told USA TODAY Sports that the NFL offices reopened August 11 to those who were ready to physically return to the building.