National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed Wednesday that the league is reviewing San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York's recent arrest in Ohio for prostitution under the NFL's personal conduct policy. The league has not yet determined if York will face discipline.
"It’s being reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” Goodell said at the NFL owners meeting in Atlanta. “We’ll do that and when there’s something to be reported we’ll talk.”
The review will determine whether York's conduct warrants punishment, a process that applies to all individuals within the NFL, including players, coaches, and owners. The personal conduct policy grants the league broad authority to investigate off-field behavior and impose discipline, even when criminal charges are reduced or resolved.
York, 45, was arrested Sunday in East Palestine, Ohio, after responding to an online advertisement placed by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. He had agreed to pay $160 for sex with a woman he believed to be a prostitute, according to police and court records. Body camera footage obtained by the California Post shows officers approaching York's SUV during the sting operation.
During the arrest, York, who was wearing his wedding ring, told officers he was "just driving" and denied meeting anyone. He was initially charged with prostitution but pleaded no contest Monday to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools. He received a one-day jail sentence, credited with time served, and was fined $1,150. The $160 seized during the arrest was forfeited, and York completed an online educational course.
York, who grew up near Youngstown, Ohio, has spent significant time in the state over the summer. He was absent from the NFL owners meetings in Atlanta, with 49ers CEO Al Guido representing the team. Court records indicate that York filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle Belluomini York, in May.
The NFL has previously disciplined team owners under its personal conduct policy. For example, former Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was suspended for six games and fined $500,000 in 2014 after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. In contrast, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was arrested in Florida in 2019 on prostitution-related charges, but the NFL did not discipline him after prosecutors dropped the charges due to a ruling that police had violated his constitutional rights by secretly recording inside massage rooms.