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| The Ray Rice scandal has come under the jurisdiction of former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III. Image: Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock.com |
In order to get a handle on a situation that is spinning out
of control, the NFL has hired former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to conduct
an independent investigation into the NFL’s handling of evidence relating to
the Ray Rice scandal, according
to NFL.com.
The situation jolted into the limelight Monday September 8
when TMZ Sports acquired video footage of then Baltimore Ravens running back
Ray Rice punching his then fiancée Janay Palmer in an elevator. The NFL acted
swiftly; by the end of the day Rice was cut from the Ravens, indefinitely
banned from the NFL, and condemned by the NFL community at large.
However, the plot thickened last Wednesday. Following
reports that the NFL did not properly pursue this situation initially (Rice was
serving a 2 game suspension prior to Monday’s events for the same domestic
violence incident), the Associated Press released a report claiming that the
NFL received a tape containing video footage of the incident back in April.
Previously, the NFL claimed to have requested the tape , but the request was
denied.
NFL team owners John Mara and Art Rooney will reportedly
oversee Mueller’s investigation. In a recent statement from the NFL, it was
made clear that Mara and Rooney will supervise the investigation because of
their experience as attorneys, not merely because of their presence in the
NFL.
Wednesday’s AP report has prompted many to question the
NFL’s handling of the Ray Rice scandal, and the placement of Mara and Rooney in
the investigation has increased this suspicion. There are even some calling for
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to step down. It appears that this scandal will
become another blemish on how the public views Goodell’s character.
Regardless of how the investigation unfolds, there is one
certainty surrounding the Ray Rice scandal: there will be no winners.
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