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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Law Enforcement Official Claims He Sent Rice Tape To NFL Security Chief Miller In April

The Ray Rice elevator video was "sent to NFL headquarters to the attention of league security chief Jeffrey Miller in April," according to a law enforcement official cited by Rob Maaddi of the AP. The NFL "has repeatedly said no one with the league saw the violent images until TMZ Sports released the video earlier this month." The law enforcement official said that he "didn't know if Miller ever saw the DVD or opened the package," as his "only communication with the NFL was a 12-second voicemail ... in which a woman says, 'You're right. It's terrible.'" Miller on Thursday in a statement said that he "never received the video." Miller: "I unequivocally deny that I received at any time a copy of the video, and I had not watched it until it was made public on September 8." Maaddi noted there are two NFL execs named Jeffrey Miller, but the law enforcement official "didn't know that, and intended it to go to the chief of security." The official said that he chose to send the tape to Miller "because of his law enforcement background, even though he didn't know him personally" (AP, 9/25). NBC's Peter Alexander said the AP report "could complicate matters for the NFL" ("Today," NBC, 9/26). YAHOO SPORTS' Eric Adelson wrote if the findings of Robert Mueller III's investigation into the NFL's handling of the Rice case "are as thorough as the Wells Report" into the Dolphins' bullying scandal, it is "hard to imagine how credibly this latest report could be explained away." It is "possible the AP's source is lying, but a voicemail and a reasonable explanation for addressing a package to Miller sure holds up better at this point" than NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's "forensics." Even if the woman who left the voicemail "watched the tape and then shelved it, or stuffed it into a folder, the only conclusion is gross incompetence" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/25). 

NEW SHERIFFS IN TOWN? In New Orleans, Jeff Duncan writes Goodell "doesn't need to step down," but he "does need to step aside as the league's chief disciplinarian." It should be "one of the first orders of business" as Goodell and NFLPA officials "begin the process of revamping the league's player conduct policy." Goodell has "become the face of the league's dysfunction." Duncan: "It's in the best interests of everyone for Goodell to cede authority here. He can no longer serve as judge, jury and appellate court for player discipline" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 9/26). THE MMQB's Andrew Brandt wrote he would suggest replacing Goodell in the player discipline process with "a truly independent panel of dedicated professionals empowered by the NFL and the NFLPA to bring to bear varied and diverse backgrounds toward appropriate discipline and rehabilitation for each case." The panel "would first sculpt appropriate sanctions for different types of misconduct." Once that is created, the standards "would be imposed uniformly, without regard to the talent of the player." The panel "would answer the call from teams and players for consistency of discipline, taking that role out of the ill-equipped hands of teams and the commissioner." Goodell’s "'judge, jury and executioner' discretion would now reside with the panel." Panel members "would not have existing employment relationships with the NFL, NFLPA, any team or player agency." This would "remove any appearance of partiality to a team or player and eliminate the need for recusal" (MMQB.SI.com, 9/25).

NO QUICK FIX: In N.Y., Ken Belson writes the NFL and its 32 teams "have done a poor job hiring women, a deficiency that was laid bare by Rice’s suspension." Goodell has "strengthened the league’s domestic violence policies and hired more women in key positions" since the release of the Rice elevator video. Three experts "will now advise the commissioner, a vice president was promoted to oversee social responsibility efforts, and women were picked as chief of government affairs and chief marketing officer." The new female execs, "who join 21 other women who are vice president or above, should provide Goodell with a more diverse set of views." But Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sports Dir Richard Lapchick, who last week published a Racial and Gender Report Card for the NFL, said that "meaningful change would take years and only if extensive and mandatory training was introduced for players and team and league officials." Lapchick: "It’s not just about changing the numbers, but about changing the culture" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/26).

NAME THAT TOON: ESPN's Michael Smith wondered if the NFL should be "embarrassed that it's become a punchline" following "South Park" devoting a large part of its season premiere Wednesday night mocking the NFL's recent troubles. WEEI-FM's Michael Holley said Goodell "should be embarrassed by being called a Goodell-Bot," but he also "should be embarrassed for throwing all types of corporate clichés, throwing those at very serious problems." Holley: "It takes 'South Park' to kind of show us what we've been looking at a lot." Smith noted the show "nailed it on the Goodell-Bot." He added it was "refreshing to actually see, even in animated form, Daniel Snyder get a taste of his own medicine" after one of the characters said he would not change the name of his company despite it being controversial. Smith said the episode was "funny, but it wasn't funny because you're talking about a $9 billion industry ... and they're a running joke." Holley noted the league is "embarrassed but they're not ashamed, because ashamed would mean they would change the behavior" ("Numbers Never Lie," ESPN2, 9/25). ESPN's Bomani Jones said, "Goodell's being fully exposed as the empty suit that we see he is. He's got to be hurting" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN2, 9/25). ESPN's Keith Olbermann said when the NFL commissioner is "reduced to being a broken cartoon robot and the owners become a conspiratorial wall of video links like the high council of Krypton in the 'Superman' movies ... you'd better be playing along with the satire or you can kiss your credibility goodbye" ("Olbermann," ESPN2, 9/25).

A MONTH TO FORGET
: SI's Tim Layden writes we are "nearing the end of one of the worst months in modern football history, a month that could someday be remembered as the period in which the most popular sport in America began sliding from its peak." Yet "even with all that's taken place, much of America remains addicted to the NFL and to football, and like any addiction this one holds a fierce grip." Stadiums "will not suddenly sit empty on Sunday afternoons, televisions will not suddenly go unwatched." But the game "is irretrievably altered," as there is "no more viewing an NFL Sunday without feeling manipulated by the spectacle and wondering about he collateral damage to the players and their families" (SI, 9/29 issue). In Austin, Cedric Golden writes it "has been an ugly two months," but the "skies will clear eventually." The NFL "has taken a humongous hit over the last month," and Goodell has "come across as someone who doesn’t have real answers to the very real problems the league is facing." He will "take the heat and continue to cash big checks in the process." Golden: "And guess what? The league will continue to be the most popular league in America" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 9/26).

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