Investigation Finds That The NFL Did Not See Ray Rice Video Before Public Release

On September 10, two days after the Ray Rice punch was seen around the world, the NFL hired former FBI director Robert Mueller to conduct an independent investigation into the way the League handled the situation. Specifically, the NFL was being accused of hiding video evidence showing Ray Rice knocking out Janay Palmer in an elevator at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City. These accusations against the NFL surfaced when the Associated Press reported that a law enforcement officer had sent a copy of the tape to an NFL executive five months prior to its public release on September 8. The anonymous law enforcement officer also claimed that a woman from the NFL offices confirmed that she had received the tape in a voicemail. Roger Goodell and other NFL top executives have denied these claims since the beginning and they hired Mr. Mueller in an attempt to prove themselves innocent of these accusations.

This afternoon, Mr. Mueller released the official report of his findings from the investigation. It states that after extensive investigation, he could not find any evidence that the NFL had access to the elevator video or any other incriminating evidence prior to its public release on September 8. During the five month investigation, Mueller interviewed numerous NFL employees, including mail room employees and all women that were in the office on the day the law enforcement officer said he received a voicemail. He also called every number that was dialed from the office on the day in question to see if any of the numbers matched that of the law enforcement official. He searched through the company’s databases, searched employee’s computers and phones, and had an anonymous tip line for employees. After doing all of this, he reported that he could not find anything to show that the NFL had possession of the video. On top of that, Mueller tried to get in contact with the law enforcement officer who said that he sent the video to the NFL and received a voicemail, but he was unsuccessful in getting in touch with him.

While the NFL may not have seen the elevator video, the investigation proved that there was a lot more that the League could have done in the situation. First, the League had access to a police officer’s written statement saying Rice struck his fiancee as well as the surveillance video showing Rice dragging his unconscious fiancee out of the elevator. They also had a copy of the grand jury’s indictment charging Rice with causing or attempting to cause significant bodily injury. With all this evidence in front of them, they still chose not to enforce harsher discipline on Rice. Second, the NFL did not contact the Atlantic City police officers, the Revel casino, Rice’s attorney, or the Ravens to try and find out more information. It was discovered that the Ravens were provided a detailed description of the assault that occurred inside the elevator from the Atlantic City Police Department back in February. The Ravens did not share this information with the NFL nor did the NFL ask the Ravens to see if they had any information.

This report claims that the NFL was telling the truth about the video; however, many people are skeptical due to the fact that Mueller was hired by the NFL itself so the investigation was not really independent. Even if the findings are legitimate, the NFL is still guilty of not doing nearly enough to search for the truth and punish Ray Rice. We can only hope that with the increased scrutiny of the NFL in terms of player conduct, the NFL will not be so quick to turn a blind eye in the future.