NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday "testified under oath ... for two-plus hours in Ray Rice's appeal hearing in Manhattan," according to sources cited by Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com. Goodell was "the first witness called," and his testimony "followed opening statements" by the NFL and NFLPA. Sources said that Goodell "spent the majority of his time testifying under cross-examination by outside union attorney Jeffrey Kessler." The sources "did not disclose what Goodell said under testimony, citing a gag order in the case." Van Natta noted it is unknown when former U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones will rule in the case, but a source said that a decision "could come in a matter of days" (ESPN.com, 11/5). In Baltimore, Aaron Wilson cites sources as saying that Rice and his wife, Janay, were expected to testify today, when they "will emphasize that they told Goodell the truth about their domestic violence incident." Ravens President Dick Cass and GM Ozzie Newsome also were not "expected to testify" until today. The Ravens "are expected to stick by what they've said about Rice in previous statements, including Newsome stating on Sept. 22 that Rice told him that he hit Janay." Newsome in that statement added that the video "was much more violent than he had anticipated" (Baltimore SUN, 11/6). FS1’s Mike Garafolo said the NFLPA “was looking forward” to having Goodell testify and was not interested "in settling this case before the grievance began." The union wanted Goodell to “face questions” on the witness stand (“Fox Sports Live,” FS1, 11/5). ESPN’s Keith Olbermann said, “No matter what he says, Goodell is not really at risk of anything worse than having a suspension he imposed overturned and him looking foolish. And if being overruled or looking foolish was really a problem for Roger Goodell, he would have retired to a Tibetan monastery the day the Rice elevator video was leaked. Goodell's real risk, of course, is more leaks” (“Olbermann,” ESPN2, 11/5).
WOMAN'S INTUITION: ESPN.com's Wayne Drehs profiled NFL VP/Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson, who he called "the most unlikely of NFL saviors," as the 35-year-old Isaacson has "limited prior experience working on domestic violence and sexual assault issues." Her work on those issues "had begun months before the announcement, in the wake of the outcry over Rice's initial, two-game suspension in late July." That is when Goodell "commissioned Isaacson to lead an internal critique of the league's domestic violence and sexual assault policies while building a network of outside experts the league could lean on for advice." Isaacson in her previous role as VP/Community Relations & Philanthropy "had worked on specific projects with domestic violence and sexual assault groups, but never as deeply as she must in her new role." She said that she "is not expected to be an expert herself, but rather, a liaison between league executives and those with more experience in the issues." Isaacson: "I don't have control over everything, clearly. But you have to have a voice and be able to speak up when you believe in something and fight for it. The last couple weeks have given me a greater voice to do that" (ESPN.com, 11/5).
