Commissioner Roger Goodell says NFL is ‘aggressively’ pursuing information about accusations against Brett Favre

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday the league is “aggressively gathering data” on the accusations against Brett Favre but declined to define a time frame for the investigation or say whether suspending the Minnesota Vikings quarterback is an option.

“I’d be hesitant to say any timing until I had a chance to understand that and make sure we can get all the information,” Goodell said after the league’s annual one-day fall owners meetings. “We’re seeking to get cooperation to make sure we understand all the facts.”

The allegations stem from a Deadspin.com report that, while quarterback of the New York Jets in 2008, Favre made advances to a female TV reporter working for the team, including texting her X-rated photos of himself. Favre has repeatedly declined to address the accusations but reportedly made a tearful apology to his Vikings teammates before their “Monday Night Football” game against the Jets, telling them he never meant to be a distraction.

Goodell has made the league’s so-called “personal conduct policy” a hallmark of his tenure, and he previously has suspended star quarterbacks Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger for what amounted to conduct detrimental to the league.

“That’s why we implemented a personal conduct policy is to make sure everyone associated with the NFL — commissioner, players, coaches, executives — understands their responsibility to conduct themselves in a responsible fashion,” Goodell said. “We all have to understand that.”

Goodell said he had no immediate plans to meet with Favre.

Labor fray

These were the last scheduled meetings before the collective bargaining agreement expires in March, and the labor issue was the main focus of discussions.

Labor peace has been a cornerstone of the league’s popularity since the last work stoppage in 1987. Since, every other major professional sports league has had either a lockout or strike.

“This will be resolved at the collective-bargaining table,” Goodell said. “Our focus is to get there sooner rather than later, get an agreement and bargain in good faith so that we can continue to play football.”

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he’s confident the NFL and the players’ union can reach an agreement before a lockout, perhaps before the end of this season.

However, owners got a briefing about what some clubs are doing to streamline their front office in case of a lockout.

“Our hope and our plan is to reach a collective bargaining agreement,” Goodell said, “but we’re prepared for all alternatives.”

What about L.A.?

The Los Angeles stadium concept overwhelmingly preferred by several NFL owners and executives is the one that places a venue next to Staples Center, where the West Hall of the Convention Center now sits.

Most in the league are reticent to go on the record with that because A) it’s always been the NFL’s policy to encourage all options in L.A. and never drive a stake through any of them; B) no decisions will be made until the labor fight is settled, and, until then, L.A. is a moot point; and C) there have been so many false starts on this front, most everyone is tired of talking about it.

That said, a contingent of Dallas Cowboys executives toured the proposed downtown site in August while the team staged part of its training camp in Oxnard, and among them was Stephen Jones, the team’s executive vice president and a son of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“I think it’s an outstanding site,” Stephen Jones said Tuesday. “Obviously, we want to have a team in L.A., but it’s got to work for everybody. To me, what they put together was very impressive.”

Of course, we have heard that type of thing before. No one has been able to turn one of these L.A. concepts into a reality.

The latest concept — formulated by L.A. businessmen Casey Wasserman and Tim Leiweke — calls for a retractable-roof venue that could play host to not just football but indoor events such as the NCAA Final Four.

The plan would be to recapture all but 50,000 of the West Hall’s 300,000 square feet with a structure across the street from Staples Center, then construct a privately financed stadium that doubles as an event center. When the roof is closed, there would be 130,000 square feet on the floor that could be covered and transformed into event space.

Leiweke, president of AEG, served on a business panel in L.A. on Tuesday and spoke about the stadium in general terms. He said he and Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents that district, have discussed the concept and the idea of AEG’s building in part of the cost in a bid to manage the entire complex.

sam.farmer@latimes.com

twitter.com/LATimesfarmer