NFL responds to congresswoman about unaccepted ID

NEW YORK - (AP) -- The NFL sent a memo to the 32 teams to clarify what is valid identification after a man with a new District of Columbia driver's license was initially denied purchasing alcohol at a stadium.

A vendor at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, did not recognize the license and turned away Aninda Maitra, thinking the ID was from the country of Colombia. The vendor asked for Maitra's passport.

Maitra, 36, told the Washington Post he eventually got his beer, but Eleanor Holmes Norton, a delegate to the House of Representatives from the District, wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about the incident.

Last week, the NFL responded to Norton, saying it has sent photos of the old and new DC driver's licenses to the clubs and directed them to "share this information with their concession management teams."

"As you know, our stadium vendors are charged with the difficult task of combating fraudulent forms of identification," the NFL said in its letter, signed by Jocelyn Moore, senior vice president of public policy and government affairs.

"They undergo specific training aimed at preventing the sale of alcohol to minors. However, a patron of legal age, with a valid photo identification, should not be denied on that basis."

A spokeswoman for MetLife Stadium referred The Associated Press to the NFL's letter.

Maitra told the Post he is pleased with the NFL's response.

"It's a good step that they are taking to get the new ID out there and get people aware that Washington and District of Columbia are the same thing," he said with a chuckle, "and that, yes, it's on American soil."