Josh Peter

USA TODAY Sports

A former NFL executive said teams did not discipline players in "hundreds and hundreds" of domestic violence incidents during his 30 years in the league, and said he now regrets his role in the failure to take action.

"I made a mistake,'' Jerry Angelo told USA TODAY Sports. "I was human. I was part of it. I'm not proud of it.''

Angelo, who was general manager of the Chicago Bears from 2001 to 2011 and has been out of the league since, said his typical approach after learning of a player's involvement in a domestic violence case was to inquire, "OK, is everybody OK? Yeah. How are they doing? Good. And then we'd just move on. We'd move on.''

"We knew it was wrong,'' Angelo said. "…For whatever reason, it just kind of got glossed over. I'm no psychiatrist, so I can't really get into what that part of it is. I'm just telling you how I was. I've got to look at myself first. And I was part of that, but I didn't stand alone.''

The Bears released a statement later Thursday denying any knowledge of Angelo's assertions. "We were surprised by Jerry's comments and do not know what he is referring to," the statement read.

Angelo said his perspective changed when the infamous Ray Rice video surfaced, showing the star running back punching his fiancee in the face in an elevator and causing her to lose consciousness. The video triggered outrage over the league's handling of domestic violence. For Angelo, it brought remorse.

"It was the pictures, it was the video,'' he said. "We had never seen that before. I had never seen video on domestic violence. I think that's what got everybody's attention.''

Angelo made the disclosure during an interview with USA TODAY Sports about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has faced calls for his resignation and widespread criticism of how the league has handled players accused of domestic violence, and whether the league aggressively investigated the Rice incident.

Goodell initially suspended Rice for two games. Once the video showing Rice punching his fiancee surfaced in September, Goodell suspended Rice indefinitely and the Baltimore Ravens released him. Goodell said no one in NFL offices had seen the video before it was posted online by TMZ.

This week at the NFL owners meetings in New York, Goodell presided over a lengthy session on the league's personal conduct policy and what should be done to address issues such as domestic violence. Goodell has said the league will announce changes between now and the Super Bowl.

Angelo praised Goodell for his integrity — "He would never cover anything up,'' he said — but said the league's failure to obtain the video made it look like "they were just trying to cover their ass.''

Prior to joining the Bears, Angelo was director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987 to 2001, a scout for the New York Giants from 1982 to 1986 and a scout for the Dallas Cowboys in 1980, the year he entered the league.

During Angelo's tenure as general manager with the Bears, the team won four division titles and reached the Super Bowl after the 2006 season. He was fired after the Bears finished 8-8 in 2011, a year after the team reached the NFC championship game.

Angelo said he did not report to the league cases of domestic violences involving players because disciplinary action would have put his team at a competitive disadvantage.

"Our business is to win games," Angelo said. "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,'' he said.

In 2008, Goodell instituted a personal conduct policy that mandates players and teams report to the league any legal matters that lead to arrest or charges.

Tank Johnson, a defensive tackle who played for the Bears from 2004 to 2006, said he is aware that domestic violence incidents went unpunished. Johnson served a six-game suspension imposed by the league in 2007 for a series of legal issues involving gun charges, but nothing involving domestic violence.

"I think that 95 percent of situations or issues that ballclubs face, of course they try to handle them internally and see if they can come up with a resolution,'' Johnson told USA TODAY Sports. "…We're talking about billion-dollar organizations, and maybe there's a little bravado there, a little ego to say that we can handle this internally.''

Johnson said he respected the former Bears GM, calling Angelo "a great man,'' and said he was not surprised to learn about his self-reflection.

"Looking at the Ray Rice situation, it's got to make everybody step back and say, 'OK, how many times has this happened and it's gone unreported?' " Johnson said. "And how many times have we overlooked this?

"Anytime you a picture or a video to something, it makes it 100 percent more real. …When you see something so vivid, so violent, it makes everyone gasp and say, 'Wow, this is real.' ''

Added Angelo, "Short of killing somebody, there is absolutely nothing worse than abusing a child or a woman. Nothing. And I think everybody understands that now much, much better.

"We'll be better for it. Everybody will be better. The players, the NFL, everybody.''