WASHINGTON – President Obama said Friday that professional and college football have been "a little bit of an old boys' network" but that he thinks sports franchises are now establishing clear policies to address off-the-field behavior of their athletes.

"This is not unique to the NFL," Obama said in an ESPN Radio interview. "There have been some blind spots that are rooted not just in pro football but back into college football. … Certain behaviors have been tolerated."

Obama noted the case of Ray Rice, the former Baltimore Ravens running back caught on video in an elevator assaulting his then-fiancée, whom he has since married.

"The way it was handled also indicates that the NFL was behind the curve as a lot of institutions have been behind the curve in sending a clear message. You don't want to be winging it when something like this happens," Obama said.

"The fact that policies have been established, I think, will be helpful in sending the message that there is no place for that kind of behavior in society, whether it is in sports or anyplace else," he said.

A revised conduct policy was put in effect Thursday by the National Football League.

Asked whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had "too many men" around him as he was handling the matter, Obama made an argument for all leaders — including presidents — to promote women and have people of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds on their staffs.

His remarks came in an interview with ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd, who asked several questions about politics in sports.

He started with a reference to Cavaliers forward LeBron James' decision to help promote healthcare.gov, the website where people can sign up for insurance through the federal government's marketplace that was established under Obama's landmark health care law.

James also made news this week for wearing a T-shirt during pregame warm-ups reading "I Can't Breathe," a reference to the dying words of Eric Garner, the Staten Island man who was put in a deadly choke hold by a police officer trying to take him into custody.

Garner's death and a grand jury's decision not to indict the officer stoked tensions that had emerged in recent months after the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

"Some of our greatest sports heroes — Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Arthur Ashe — they spoke out on issues that mattered at pretty critical times," Obama said. Athletes are entertainers, he said, but they're also citizens.

"They … have a voice that is legitimate. I think it is important. I think it is useful," Obama said.

An avid sports fan, Obama said he spends "most of my time" watching ESPN as he gets ready in the morning and doesn't want to be "inundated by chatter about politics."