Video of Ray Ray punching fiancee released by TMZ

[Texas Ace]

What body is authorized to force Goodell to step down?

I don't know if there is a body per se, but if public outcry can force the league to retroactively punish Rice, then it damn sure ought to be able to pressure Goodell to step down too.

 

[L.T. Fan]

I don't know if there is a body per se, but if public outcry can force the league to retroactively punish Rice, then it damn sure ought to be able to pressure Goodell to step down too.

I am not sure he would just walk away. There likely is a committee or group within the owners who hire and fire appointees. Usually an Executive committee.

 

[Foobio]

What body is authorized to force Goodell to step down?

The U.S. Dollar

 

[BipolarFuk]

What body is authorized to force Goodell to step down?

Owner vote.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Owner vote.

All owners or a representative group?

 

[Cotton]

ESPN - Law enforcement official told AP he sent video of Ray Rice elevator incident to NFL executive in April

-------------------

Oh snap.

 

[Texas Ace]

ESPN - Law enforcement official told AP he sent video of Ray Rice elevator incident to NFL executive in April

-------------------

Oh snap.

Yup.

This comment is the most damning:

The person played The Associated Press a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9 confirming the video arrived. A female voice expresses thanks and says: "You're right. It's terrible."

If this is true, then there is no way Goodell keeps his job.

 

[BipolarFuk]

I guess people will never learn that lying about something almost always makes it worse.

Cameras are everywhere. Everyone has a camera. Smart, resourceful people looking to take you down for a buck or make a name for themselves.

It is really hard to get away with shit these days.

 

[Foobio]

Hopefully they won't install another putz once Goodell is out of there.

 

[L.T. Fan]

I guess people will never learn that lying about something almost always makes it worse.

Cameras are everywhere. Everyone has a camera. Smart, resourceful people looking to take you down for a buck or make a name for themselves.

It is really hard to get away with shit these days.

This is a time when cameras are good. Right?

 

[1bigfan13]

Roger Goodell is in CYA mode.

From the looks of it he's in violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy. He's undermining the integrity of the game.

A suspension at the very least is in order, but resignation/firing is what should take place.

 

[1bigfan13]

Janay and Ray Rice are probably loving this.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Roger Goodell is in CYA mode.

From the looks of it he's in violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy. He's undermining the integrity of the game.

A suspension at the very least is in order, but resignation/firing is what should take place.

The way he has been posturing himself he doesn't plan to resign but the governing body of the league (whoever they are) could force him to step down.

 

[Texas Ace]

Roger Goodell is in CYA mode.

From the looks of it he's in violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy. He's undermining the integrity of the game.

A suspension at the very least is in order, but resignation/firing is what should take place.

Yup.

He can't go around acting like the sheriff of the NFL and make himself the self appointed disciplinarian, who talks about how important it is to protect the integrity of the league, but then hold himself to a different standard.

Practice what you preach, bitch.

 

[shane]

I guess people will never learn that lying about something almost always makes it worse.

Cameras are everywhere. Everyone has a camera. Smart, resourceful people looking to take you down for a buck or make a name for themselves.

It is really hard to get away with shit these days.

Unless you're in government

Anyway, Goddell going down would make this new phony media-hyped outrage actually accomplish something good. Although he'd probably be replaced with someone just as bad if not worse

 

[Cotton]

 

[Cotton]

Scapegoats will rue the day!

 

[Cotton]

Congress asks Goodell for 'highest level of transparency' with Rice
By Josh Katzowitz | NFL Writer
September 10, 2014 6:46 pm ET

A dozen members of Congress are demanding that the NFL be as transparent as possible with the failures of the Ray Rice domestic violence investigation.

USA Today writes that 12 House of Representative members, all Democrats, sent a letter to commissioner Roger Goodell asking for the "the highest level of transparency" in regard to the investigation.

Wrote the members of the Judiciary Committee: "We are interested in the manner in which these leagues handle incidence of domestic violence by their players, owners and other employees."

This isn't the first time in recent memory that Congress has contacted the NFL. Members of the House and the Senate have also made it clear that they'd like to see the Redskins change their name.

Here's Wednesday's letter in its entirety, via USA Today:

Dear Commissioner Goodell:

We write concerning the important issue of domestic violence, which unfortunately impacts every level of our society, and which we must find ways to combat comprehensively. Our professional sports leagues are important economic and cultural institutions in the United States and we are interested in the manner in which these leagues handle incidents of domestic violence by their players, owners, and other employees. We believe that these high-profile professional leagues are, in many ways, in a position of public trust and should be at the forefront of handling such incidents appropriately.

With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act, we all recognize that this issue requires strengthened and sustained efforts by individuals, organizations, and government. Of course, we are particularly concerned about information that has come to light about the perpetration of domestic violence by one of the NFL's players, Ray Rice, against his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, in an elevator at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 15, 2014.

Given the important role the NFL and the other major professional sports leagues can play in shaping public perceptions concerning domestic violence, it would appear to be in the public interest to have the highest level of transparency associated with reviews of potential misconduct.

Thus for example, while we understand that you have stated in an interview yesterday on behalf of the NFL that, "We assumed that there was a video, we asked for the video, we asked for anything that was pertinent, but we were never granted that opportunity," to our knowledge the public has not been informed as to specifically how and in what context the request was made, and specifically how relevant law enforcement responded. Nor has there been a full explanation as to whether the video was requested of others, such as Mr. Rice's attorney or the casino where the incident occurred (and if not, why not), or whether any employees, agents, or consultants of the league or any of its teams outside of your office had access to the video prior to September 8. We therefore urge greater transparency and explanations of these matters.

We welcome your recent willingness to change the NFL's policies regarding issues of domestic violence, and we also believe other major professional sports leagues should consider making their policies public and reviews transparent as well. We look forward to working with you and all of the major professional sports leagues so that we can all participate in the effort to reduce incidents of domestic violence, increase transparency in their review, and better respond to those cases that unfortunately do occur.

Sincerely,

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.)

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.)

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.)

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas)

Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (La.)

Rep. Henry C. "Hank" Johnson Jr. (Ga.)

Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.)

Rep. Judy Chu (Calif.)

Rep. Karen Bass (Calif.)

Rep. Suzan K. DelBene (Wash.)

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.)

 

[Cotton]

Report: NFL security investigating whether league office got tape

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 10, 2014, 7:19 PM EDT

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says no one in the league office saw the infamous video of Ray Rice punching his wife until it was published this week. The Associated Press says someone in the league office did, in fact, see the video months ago.

So now the NFL is having its security department investigate the matter.

That’s the word from Norah O’Donnell of CBS, who conducted the interview with Goodell this week in which he insisted he hadn’t seen the Rice video until TMZ published it. O’Donnell wrote on Twitter that someone she described as a “top NFL executive” told her the investigation is already underway.

“We are looking into it,” that source said. “Our security department will be doing everything we can to determine if this is true.”

There are several problems with this. For starters, what makes anyone think the NFL’s own security department is competent to handle this investigation? If NFL security couldn’t get its hands on the Rice tape in the first place, why should we believe NFL security can get to the bottom of whether someone else had the Rice tape?

Furthermore, there’s an obvious, blatant conflict with the NFL having its own security department conduct this investigation. If the NFL wants anyone to trust any type of investigation into this matter, it needs to ask an independent investigator who’s not beholden to the league to conduct the investigation.

The “top NFL executive” also told O’Donnell that “if there’s a delivery sitting under someone’s desk there will be consequences.” In other words, if it’s true — as the Associated Press reported today — that a law enforcement source gave a league official the video months ago, that league official may be in trouble for not passing it up the chain of command.

That might sound like it makes sense, but it’s the wrong tone to strike at the outset of an investigation. The purpose of this investigation should be to seek the truth, not to seek punishment for this as-yet-unnamed league official who supposedly saw the tape months ago. The fact that top NFL executives are already threatening consequences means that NFL employees are going to head into this investigation looking to protect their own jobs, rather than to reveal the truth to investigators.

For the NFL, this case is a mess. And no matter what the investigation uncovers, it’s surely going to get messier.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Congress asks Goodell for 'highest level of transparency' with Rice
By Josh Katzowitz | NFL Writer
September 10, 2014 6:46 pm ET

A dozen members of Congress are demanding that the NFL be as transparent as possible with the failures of the Ray Rice domestic violence investigation.

USA Today writes that 12 House of Representative members, all Democrats, sent a letter to commissioner Roger Goodell asking for the "the highest level of transparency" in regard to the investigation.

Wrote the members of the Judiciary Committee: "We are interested in the manner in which these leagues handle incidence of domestic violence by their players, owners and other employees."

This isn't the first time in recent memory that Congress has contacted the NFL. Members of the House and the Senate have also made it clear that they'd like to see the Redskins change their name.

Here's Wednesday's letter in its entirety, via USA Today:

Dear Commissioner Goodell:

We write concerning the important issue of domestic violence, which unfortunately impacts every level of our society, and which we must find ways to combat comprehensively. Our professional sports leagues are important economic and cultural institutions in the United States and we are interested in the manner in which these leagues handle incidents of domestic violence by their players, owners, and other employees. We believe that these high-profile professional leagues are, in many ways, in a position of public trust and should be at the forefront of handling such incidents appropriately.

With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act, we all recognize that this issue requires strengthened and sustained efforts by individuals, organizations, and government. Of course, we are particularly concerned about information that has come to light about the perpetration of domestic violence by one of the NFL's players, Ray Rice, against his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, in an elevator at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 15, 2014.

Given the important role the NFL and the other major professional sports leagues can play in shaping public perceptions concerning domestic violence, it would appear to be in the public interest to have the highest level of transparency associated with reviews of potential misconduct.

Thus for example, while we understand that you have stated in an interview yesterday on behalf of the NFL that, "We assumed that there was a video, we asked for the video, we asked for anything that was pertinent, but we were never granted that opportunity," to our knowledge the public has not been informed as to specifically how and in what context the request was made, and specifically how relevant law enforcement responded. Nor has there been a full explanation as to whether the video was requested of others, such as Mr. Rice's attorney or the casino where the incident occurred (and if not, why not), or whether any employees, agents, or consultants of the league or any of its teams outside of your office had access to the video prior to September 8. We therefore urge greater transparency and explanations of these matters.

We welcome your recent willingness to change the NFL's policies regarding issues of domestic violence, and we also believe other major professional sports leagues should consider making their policies public and reviews transparent as well. We look forward to working with you and all of the major professional sports leagues so that we can all participate in the effort to reduce incidents of domestic violence, increase transparency in their review, and better respond to those cases that unfortunately do occur.

Sincerely,

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.)

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.)

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.)

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas)

Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (La.)

Rep. Henry C. "Hank" Johnson Jr. (Ga.)

Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.)

Rep. Judy Chu (Calif.)

Rep. Karen Bass (Calif.)

Rep. Suzan K. DelBene (Wash.)

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.)

I don't see anything in this that turns any screws on Goodell. Their request is somewhat vague in that transparency is requested. What ever that means.