A) The NFL isn't a progressive institution in any sense of the word. Their prime prerogative is to keep people from talking about the fact that the sport itself leaves its players maimed mentally and physically. If you're not talking about that, then they're fine. The worst thing coming down the pipeline in the future would be something that definitively links football to CTE. Anything else is secondary in concern -- they actually dont care about players beating up women: that's why Greg Hardy is serving 4 games, because there's no footage out there. Back to Ray Rice, because he's such a good example, he sold a lot of jerseys after he was booted, because people are stupid.
B) The NFL has, far and away, the least sophisticated fan base in all of professional sports. It is one of the largest, and it is one of the most diverse, but it is not interested in nuance and thoughtfulness. And if you don't believe me I have roughly 75 thousand light beers and a whole bunch of Ford F150's to sell you.
C) Goodell doesn't create these situations, and up until deflategate you could argue that he was hamhanded but never in the wrong ethically -- take your pick, but he's going up against a guy who knocked out his wife, a guy who beat his kids, or people paying other people to actively injure players. Did he screw up all of those? Yes, but the idea that these people shouldn't have been punished is not part of the equation, because of course they should have.