I agree that the subject and the public reaction to it changed under their feet over time. But other corporations have been dealing with that for years, if not a decade or more. The NFL was clearly behind and had no sold policy to fall back on, only platitudes and a case by case approach.
And there were signs of trouble along the way. One man as judge and appeal needs to be beyond reproach and from simple DUI to DUI manslaughter to Roethlisberger's rape allegations, he has been all over the board and the players let the League know this.
The professionals in the League Office should have seen the trouble the Player Conduct Policy was going to cause (it was intended to deal with the problem with no having a Policy before it) by being so open ended. Compared to the NBA or the MLB, the NFL was woefully unprepared.