Former FBI Dir Robert Mueller III's role as the head of the independent investigation appointed by the NFL to look into the handling of the Ray Rice situation is being questioned, as Mueller "works for a law firm that has represented the NFL" in the past, according to Corbett & Peter of USA TODAY. DC-based law firm WilmerHale has "worked with the league on a variety of matters," such as the "NFL Sunday Ticket" package. Additionally, Ravens President Dick Cass "worked for WilmerHale before moving to his current role." National Organization of Women President Terry O'Neill, who has called on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to be removed due to his handling of the Rice case, said, "That sounds like an insider investigation. There needs to be a truly independent, top-to-bottom review by individuals who have full authority to gather all the facts and suggest solutions." Giants President & CEO John Mara and Steelers President Art Rooney II are overseeing the investigation, and in a joint release indicated that they "had been in contact with Mueller." They stressed that the investigation "would be independent and the final report would be made public." The statement read, "No timeline was established, and we stressed that he should take as much time as necessary to complete a thorough investigation" (USA TODAY, 9/12).
DEPENDENT INDEPENDENCE? Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio noted there are a "lot of tentacles between Mueller’s law firm and the NFL," and to be "truly independent, you have to have no baggage whatsoever, no concern, no worry, no awkwardness when you go back to your office" ("PFT," NBCSN, 9/11). ESPN's Michael Wilbon said, "If it's independent, find someone who's going to investigate who is not beholden to the people overseeing the investigation." Wilbon: "Really, is the NFL allowed to just say anything and we have to believe it?" ("PTI," ESPN, 9/11). FS1's Rob Becker said the NFL should have "picked a new law firm that specializes in internal investigations for corporations." Becker: "If they had done that, they would have maintained the integrity and no one would be questioning the law firm's answers" ("America's Pregame," FS1, 9/11). ESPN's Keith Olbermann: "Selecting a pal from what might as well be your in-house law firm is wily but shallow" ("Olbermann," ESPN2, 9/11). NYU Tisch Center sports business professor Robert Boland said, "The optics are terrible. I think Goodell would have been better off if he brought in someone without ties to the NFL -- preferably a woman" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/12).
WHAT MUELLER NEEDS TO DO: In N.Y., Ken Belson notes Mueller "will have his challenges" with the investigation, and he might "have to interview former members of the FBI who have worked as investigators for the NFL." He also will need to "develop a relationship with the technology department at the league's headquarters to ensure he can retrieve relevant emails." Former Justice Dept. Inspector General Michael Bromwich said that the league's promise to make findings public "should give Mueller leverage with anyone he hopes to interview." Bromwich: "He will have a lot of power to remind people about these promises. These investigations can be a little tricky, but in many ways they are even more difficult if they take place behind a curtain rather than in the public eye." John Dowd, who oversaw MLB's investigation into Pete Rose in '89, said of Mueller, "His reputation is really on the line. If it comes out too light, it won't look good. At the end of the day, what's most important to him is his reputation, which means more to him than money. I can't believe he'll want to pull his punches" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/12). CBS' Norah O'Donnell said Mueller has an "impeccable reputation," but even once the report is released, it will not "be the end of it." O'Donnell: "It's going to buy the commissioner, Roger Goodell, some time because the NFL can say, 'Look, we're waiting for this independent investigation before we take further action'" ("Thursday Night Kickoff," CBS, 9/11).
LET'S GET IT ON: NFL Network's Judy Battista reported NFL owners want to "get this investigation started as quickly as possible so they can hopefully put this whole incident behind them." Owners are "concerned about the slow trickle of stories that have come in the last few days, the worry that it's damaging the credibility of the commissioner and of the league office." Battista: "That's why the independent investigator is so important. They wanted a fresh pair or eyes" ("Thursday Night Kickoff," CBS, 9/11). But CBS Sports Network's Jim Rome asked, "Exactly what is there to investigate? Either that voicemail is real or it's not, and either that woman on the voicemail passed on the video or she did not. This thing should have been done seven months ago and it should have taken about 10 minutes." TWC SportsNet’s Chris McGee: “Investigating what? Yourselves? You have two owners that are going to help investigate and oversee and go after the very shield that they're there to protect?” ("Rome," CBS Sports Network, 9/11).
REPUTATIONS OF MARA, ROONEY ON THE LINE: In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck wondered "just how independent" the investigation will be with Mara and Rooney overseeing it. Putting the two owners in charge of Mueller "was another attempt to show that Goodell is going to be out of the loop." However, it might have looked better if the league "simply handed Mueller the keys to the kingdom and told him to perform the investigation without any input from anyone closely connected" to Goodell (BALTIMORESUN.com, 9/11). SI.com's Doug Farrar wrote the presence of Mara and Rooney "makes this a very complex exercise, if transparency if truly the goal." They might be Goodell's "two biggest mentors in the league." Goodell even wrote the "introduction to Dan Rooney's book." Meanwhile, Mara on Tuesday "released a statement saying that any notion of Goodell's job insecurity was 'misguided'" (SI.com, 9/11). In Boston, Steve Buckley asks, "Is Mueller going on a fact-finding mission or a fact-checking mission?" Buckley: "If the report turns out to be a complete rubber stamp of everything being ladled out by Goodell, the news cycle will include editorial cartoons of Mara and Rooney high-fiving each other in the background" (BOSTON HERALD, 9/12). But former NFLer Lawrence Jackson said of Rooney, "He had no ill feelings about the way that the whole Ben Roethlisberger thing was handled. He’s clearly a stickler on doing the right thing" ("Rome," CBS Sports Network, 9/11). Meanwhile, ESPN N.Y.'s Ian O'Connor wrote this is Mara's "real moment of truth, his chance to declare who he is and what he really stands for." O'Connor: "Is he an owner who cares mostly about protecting his partners and those who have served his bottom line? Or, the facts demand it, is he a man with a moral compass strong enough to carry Roger Goodell out on that shield he always talks about protecting?" (ESPNNY.com, 9/11).
THE RIGHT CALL: A BOSTON GLOBE editorial states the NFL "finally made the right call in setting up an independent review" of the Rice case. Goodell "should let his fate be determined by the findings of the probe." The editorial: "If ever a situation cried out for an independent review, this is it" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/12). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote announcing an investigation into the matter "may be the first smart decision the NFL has made since the Rice scandal became a Roger Goodell scandal." Wetzel: "What the NFL needs most is for the wildness and unpredictability of this incident to slow down" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/11).
