CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Sexual Violence in the NFL

Interview

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I want to bring in Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. She is the author of this new book, "Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World".

Senator, great to see you as always. It's a really good book.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: Great to be on the set.

TAPPER: It's a really good book, I want to say also. Like, this is -- unlike most political books, I actually found it very interesting and fun to read.

GILLIBRAND: Good.

TAPPER: So, congratulations on that.

Let's -- let me start with this Ray Rice mess. You're one of 16 female senators who just wrote a letter to the NFL demanding a zero tolerance policy on domestic violence.

Knowing what we know now, should the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, do you think he should resign?

GILLIBRAND: Well, I think Roger should lead the reform and if he's lied, which has the most recent debate, about when he knew things, I think he has to be fired, he has to step down, because he won't have the legitimacy, he won't have the credibility to reform an organization that's desperately in need of reform. We have players who are playing who have been convicted of domestic violence. It's a huge problem.

And, you know, we have to value our women more. And it's a broader issue. It's about institutions protecting their star players, their golden boys.

And we see it not just in the NFL. We see it in the military. We see it in college campuses.

TAPPER: You -- you have a thick skin, I know. You say you credit your father who used to call you Foghorn Leghorn, and "the mouth" at one point. So, I know this isn't going to hurt your feelings too much.

But Rush Limbaugh criticized your letter and, in general, the way that politicians and the media have been talking about this story. This is what he said.

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RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO HOST: We're feminizing this game and it's a man's game. If we keep feminizing this game, we're going to ruin it. If we keep chickifying this game, we're going to run it.

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GILLIBRAND: Well, if he believes criminals should be playing in the National Football League, he's got a serious issue. These are criminal cases of assault and battery and sexual violence.

And our players are role models. We don't want young kids looking up to these folks who are beating their wives. It's not right. So we should have a zero tolerance policy and he's wrong.

TAPPER: Let's talk about your book which is about women and girls embracing ambition. Is that a fair characterization it?

GILLIBRAND: Yes, I have a chapter called, "Ambition is Not a Dirty Word." That I want women to aspire for what they want and not be afraid of it, and actually go for it.

TAPPER: Well, let me ask you the question, because the book first burst into the news a few weeks when "People" magazine excerpt noted the chapter in which you talk about how men in the Senate and the House, when you say "colleagues", I mean lawmakers from both the House and Senate, I guess, commented on your weight and your appearance and felt free to do so. You were pregnant. One of them called you porky. You were slimming down, one of them grabbed you from behind, grabbed your waist and said, "Don't get too thin because he likes his women chubby."

Now, I know you don't name these lawmakers because you say it's not about them, it's about the experience you've gone through. But you are calling for a courage, not just in this book but in your work. You're calling for women in the workplace to name their harassers. You're calling for women on college campuses to name those who assault them.

Shouldn't you in that spirit name these people, these men?

GILLIBRAND: Well, the reason I take the time and specifically include examples throughout my life from the time I was a young lawyer to my current career is so that women who experience this can at least know they're not alone. And I want to give women the courage to be heard on the issues they care about.

And the chapter an appearance is much more about challenges we face. A lot of the book is about the fact that having it all is an absurd debate and, in fact, women are doing it all. And when you're working and taking care of your kids, sometimes we need more support. And so, it's about these much broader issues to elevate the debate, so we have national conversations about women in the workplace and the challenges they face.

TAPPER: And you think naming people would not be elevating the debate?

GILLIBRAND: Absolutely not, because then it's about that guy and what he said. You want to talk about what are the real challenges.

For example, like this morning, I'm making my kids' breakfast, making their lunches, finding the soccer outfit, finding the taekwondo kit, getting to school on time. And that is a common experience for a lot of working moms, and even though my challenges might seem easy, and, frankly, I have a lot of flexibility in my job, it talks about the fact that we all have these challenges and we need to support women more.

Eight out of 10 moms are working today and four out of 10 moms are either primary or sole breadwinners. But we still don't have equal pay in this country. We don't have paid leave -- the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't have paid leave.

TAPPER: All right. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, "Off the Sidelines", we wish you the best of luck with the book. Thank you so much. Good to see you always.

GILLIBRAND: Thanks, Jake.

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