Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Sports

Independent investigation to begin in Rice incident

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - An independent investigation into the events surrounding the league's handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence incident will be conducted.

The league released a statement late Wednesday night that said former FBI director Robert Mueller will lead the probe, while owners John Mara of the New York Giants and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers will oversee the proceedings.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been widely criticized for his handling of the case, which stemmed from Rice's assault of then-fiancee Janay Palmer in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino in February.

"Commissioner Goodell pledged that Director Mueller will have the full cooperation of NFL personnel and access to all NFL records," the league said in a statement announcing the investigation.

Mueller served as FBI director from 2001-2013 under two presidents and is currently a partner in a Washington, DC law firm.

Goodell initially suspended Rice for two games, then made the suspension indefinite on Monday when video of the actual incident was released by TMZ.com. The Baltimore Ravens released Rice on Monday just before the league extended the suspension.

Monday's latest video release showed Rice throwing a punch at Palmer and knocking her into a handrail in the elevator, causing her to become unconscious. Previously, only the aftermath of the incident, with Rice dragging Palmer out of the elevator, was made public.

Goodell said the league never saw the video of the actual punch until Monday, but a report from the Associated Press on Wednesday said a law enforcement official says he sent a copy of the video to an NFL executive five months ago.

"We have no knowledge of this. We are not aware of anyone in our office who possessed or saw the video before it was made public on Monday. We will look into it," the NFL said Wednesday in the statement.

Goodell had stated the league asked law enforcement for the video inside the elevator, but could not obtain it.

Rice, a three-time Pro Bowl running back, avoided prosecution over the altercation after entering into a pretrial intervention program. The charges against him will be expunged from his record upon successful completion of the one-year program.