NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last night announced that former FBI Dir Robert Mueller III will conduct an independent investigation into the league's pursuit and handling of evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence incident. Mueller's investigation will be overseen by Giants President & CEO John Mara and Steelers President Art Rooney II. The final report will be made public. Mueller will have the full cooperation of NFL personnel and access to all NFL records (NFL). The AP's Wilner & Maaddi noted the NFL "called the probe independent, and did not discuss how the owners will work with Mueller." But there "could be an appearance of conflict: Mara has already indicated he doesn't think Goodell's job should be in jeopardy." The move to launch an investigation came hours after the release of a report that indicated a law enforcement officer "sent an NFL executive a video in April that showed Rice striking his then-fiancee at a casino." The official said that he "sent the tape five months ago, and played a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9 confirming the video arrived." A female voice "expresses thanks and says: 'You're right. It's terrible.'" The official said that he "had no further communication with any NFL employee and can't confirm anyone watched the video." The person said that he "was unauthorized to release the video but shared it unsolicited, because he wanted the NFL to have it before deciding on Rice's punishment" (AP, 9/10).
THE RIGHT MOVE TO TAKE: NFL Network's Judy Battista said the "only move" the NFL could make was to "bring in somebody from the outside with fresh eyes and no connection to the league to look into" the Rice case. Mueller will be in charge of a "deep dive to get to the bottom of who had the tape, if anybody, and what they knew before they made the initial decision" on Rice's two-game suspension. Some people may have concerns about Mara and Rooney overseeing the investigation and it "may seem to be a conflict." The Mara and Rooney families "have been long-time owners and supporters of Roger Goodell in the past on big league issues." However, they also are "concerned with the long-term well-being of the NFL." Battista: "These families were in the NFL before Roger Goodell became the commissioner, and they will be there long after Goodell leaves as commissioner, whenever that is. I think if you're going to pick anybody to oversee this, these are the two right men." NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said, "Appointing an independent investigator is taking the situation out of their hands. This is as transparent as they could possibly be" (“NFL AM,” NFL Network, 9/11). FS1's Mike Garafolo said, "It's the best play that the NFL could make right now in their minds. I'm not surprised that they went that route. It's their way of saying to the public, 'We we understand we're investigating ourselves, so we're going to bring in somebody from the outside that can be as objective as possible'" ("Fox Sports Live," FS1, 9/10). But ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said, “The investigation concludes months from now when this has quieted down, this isn't top of everybody's mind, things have calmed to a degree and you can go on sort of business as usual” ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 9/11).
GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THINGS: In N.Y., Ken Belson notes in regard to the investigation, the NFL "took a similar step last year when it hired Ted Wells, a prominent lawyer, to look into reports of persistent bullying" in the Dolphins’ locker room. However, Mueller’s report "is unlikely to quell the immediate calls by women’s advocacy groups for Goodell to resign." Earlier yesterday, National Organization for Women President Terry O'Neill "called for Goodell to resign for mishandling the league's policy on domestic violence." She "called for the league to appoint an independent investigator to gather data about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the NFL community and to recommend reforms" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/11). O'Neill said, "We believe that the NFL does not have Ray Rice problem. The NFL has a violence against women problem. It's much broader and much deeper than the Ray Rice scandal." O'Neill said Goodell has a "huge problem on his hands, and he is not the person who can now credibly lead change" ("Fox Sports Live," FS1, 9/10). Meanwhile, USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero reports several members of Congress yesterday "sent a letter to Goodell demanding 'the highest level of transparency' in how the league investigated the Rice situation." Sources said that no call "had taken place with the 32 owners to discuss the Rice case's handling" (USA TODAY, 9/11).
DEFENDING PROCESS OF GETTING TAPE: Goodell yesterday sent a memo to teams stating that the league tried to obtain the video that showed Rice knocking his then-fiancee unconscious but were turned back by New Jersey police and gaming authorities. His memo came as Mara issued a statement saying while he and other owners had been dissatisfied with the original two-game suspension of Rice, the league has since got it right. "My understanding is that the League and the Ravens made repeated requests to obtain the video of the Ray Rice incident and were denied each time," Mara said. "The notion that the League should have gone around law enforcement to obtain the video is, in my opinion, misguided, as is the notion that the Commissioner's job is now in jeopardy. The video is appalling, and I believe that the team and the League took appropriate action after they finally had the opportunity to view it." Goodell in his memo outlined the legal restrictions that prevented the local prosecutor and police from handing over the tape. He also wrote the league did not ask the Revel Casino where the attack occurred for the tape because it was not allowed to do so because of the ongoing criminal investigation. Goodell wrote that the criminal investigation technically is still ongoing until Rice is through with the diversionary program he was put into, instead of being charged and tried (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
THE TALE OF THE TAPE: CBS News' Norah O'Donnell, who on Tuesday interviewed Goodell, last night on Twitter wrote that someone "could be in big trouble if the DVD didn't get into the appropriate hands." She cited an NFL exec as saying, "If there's a delivery sitting under someone's desk, there will be consequences" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/11). MSNBC's Willie Geist said if anyone in the league office "saw the tape, they have a massive problem and it could lead up to the commissioner's office" ("Morning Joe," MSNBC, 9/11). Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said, "It's going to be very difficult to recover from this if that report is true. I think already at a minimum, we're going to see people high up in the organization quietly leave for other employment after the season ends. There will be multiple people who leave once the dust settles. The question is, can the commissioner recover after the NFL has dug its heels in so deeply on this idea that, ‘We didn't have the tape, we had no knowledge and we had no access to the tape,’ if it is true they did have the tape?" ("Pro Football Talk," NBCSN, 9/10). SI's Chris Burke wrote no one “will be surprised if similar evidence, be it emails, other phone calls or recorded conversations, comes to light in the near future” (SI.com, 9/10). But SLATE’s Josh Levin wrote while the situation “looks very bad” for Goodell, “shouldn’t we wait for the NFL to look into it?” At this point, it is “impossible to know whether the commissioner was lying” when he said no one in the league's office had seen the second tape prior to Monday. Until we “see a clear video of an NFL executive watching the Ray Rice elevator video, how can we know what really happened?” (SLATE.com, 9/10).
GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME: Former NFLer Sage Rosenfels wrote in a special to THE MMQB, “I’ll always wonder what would have happened in this case if Goodell had handed down a six- or eight-or 10-game suspension in the first place.” Everyone “screamed when the ban came down, because two games was obviously too light.” If Goodell “had given Rice eight games and this tape surfaced, the outcry would have been far less” (MMQB.SI.com, 9/10).
DAILY SHOW TREATMENT: The Rice story was covered on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" last night in typical fashion. Host Jon Stewart noted it began when an Atlantic City casino security camera caught Rice "dragging his fiancé's unconscious body out of elevator after he had assaulted her, because a gentleman would never leave his financee's unconscious body unattended in an elevator." Stewart: "It was the sort of despicable act our society would not tolerate, and the justice system had no choice but to throw the book at Rice. Specifically a book titled 'So You're Sentenced To Counseling: A Violent Offender's Guide To Lenient Punishments.' But not to worry, the NFL jumped in to fill the justice void." Stewart noted the NFL gave Rice only a two-game suspension, "a two-game slap, one for each wrist." But after a "rather vociferous and negative response to the perceived coddling of the All-Pro elevator puncher, the NFL recognized the errors of its ways" and instituted a new domestic violence policy, giving a six-game suspension for first-time offenders. Following the release of the second tape, Stewart said Rice-A-Roni is "changing its name" and will now be "referred to as Simmered Grain-A-Roni." Meanwhile, Rice Univ. will now be referred to as "The University Where We Do Not Punch Ladies In Elevators" ("The Daily Show," Comedy Central, 9/10).
