National Football League

Giants co-owner defends Goodell; commissioner alleges NFL asked for 'relevant information'

Published Sep. 10, 2014 3:30 p.m. ET

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The Ray Rice issue as it pertains to Roger Goodell and what he knew is heating up, but now one NFL owner is coming to the commissioner’s defense.

Giants co-owner John Mara said on Wednesday that Goodell course-corrected after his initial two-game suspension for Rice, who was cut by the Ravens and banned by the NFL after the newer, salacious video came to light on Monday.

“The Commissioner took responsibility for that in his August 28th memo to the owners when he stated, ‘I didn’t get it right. Simply put, we have to do better. And we will,” Mara’s statement said. “There is no place for domestic violence in our sport or in our society, and we are committed to doing our part to prevent such heinous acts going forward.”

Goodell, also on Wednesday, refuted claims that NFL turned a blind eye to the alleged video that showed Rice punching out now-wife Janay in a casino elevator in February. TMZ has been at the center of the scandal about what the NFL did and did not ask for from law enforcement officials.

Goodell, once again defending the NFL, said this in a statement:

“First, we did not see video of what took place inside the elevator until it was publicly released on Monday. When the new video evidence became available, we acted promptly and imposed an indefinite suspension on Mr. Rice,” he said. “Second, on multiple occasions, we asked the proper law enforcement authorities to share with us all relevant information, including any video of the incident.”

Goodell is on the defensive about his handling of the Rice situation, but it seems as though he has the backing of the owners.

Below, are the two statements in their entirety:

Mara:

“Many of us were dissatisfied with the original two-game suspension of Ray Rice. The Commissioner took responsibility for that in his August 28th memo to the owners when he stated, ‘I didn’t get it right. Simply put, we have to do better. And we will.’ He then took appropriate steps to address this matter. Our policy now on domestic violence has been strengthened. We have all learned a valuable lesson from this episode. We now have a strong partnership with anti-domestic violence groups, and we will be a better League for it going forward.

“My understanding is that the League and the Ravens made repeated requests to obtain the video of the Ray Rice incident and were denied each time. The notion that the League should have gone around law enforcement to obtain the video is, in my opinion, misguided, as is the notion that the Commissioner‘s job is now in jeopardy. The video is appalling, and I believe that the team and the League took appropriate action after they finally had the opportunity to view it.

“There is no place for domestic violence in our sport or in our society, and we are committed to doing our part to prevent such heinous acts going forward.”

Goodell

“As you know, there has been a good deal of speculation about the investigatory process that preceded the decision to suspend Ray Rice for his involvement in an incident of domestic violence last February. I want to use this opportunity to address this matter and provide a full understanding of the process that was followed.

First, we did not see video of what took place inside the elevator until it was publicly released on Monday. When the new video evidence became available, we acted promptly and imposed an indefinite suspension on Mr. Rice.

Second, on multiple occasions, we asked the proper law enforcement authorities to share with us all relevant information, including any video of the incident. Those requests were made to different law enforcement entities, including the New Jersey State Police, the Atlantic City Police Department, the Atlantic County Police Department and the Atlantic County Solicitor’s Office. The requests were first made in February following the incident, and were again made following Mr. Rice’s entry into the pre-trial diversion program. None of the law enforcement entities we approached was permitted to provide any video or other investigatory material to us. As is customary in disciplinary cases, the suspension imposed on Mr. Rice in July was based on the information available to us at that time.

Our understanding of New Jersey law is that casino security is regulated by the Division of Gaming Enforcement in the State Attorney General’s office. Once a criminal investigation begins, law enforcement authorities do not share investigatory material (such as the videos here) with private parties such as the NFL. In addition, the state’s Open Public Records Act excludes material that is generated in the context of an active law enforcement proceeding. The law enforcement agencies did nothing wrong here; they simply followed their customary procedures. As the New Jersey Attorney General’s office said yesterday, “It would have been illegal for law enforcement to provide [the] Rice video to [the] NFL.”

We did not ask the Atlantic City casino directly for the video. Again, our understanding of New Jersey law is that the casino is prohibited from turning over material to a third party during a law enforcement proceeding, and that doing so would have subjected individuals to prosecution for interference with a criminal investigation. Moreover, our longstanding policy in matters like this – where there is a criminal investigation being directed by law enforcement and prosecutors – is to cooperate with law enforcement and take no action to interfere with the criminal justice system. In addition, in the context of an ongoing criminal investigation, information obtained outside of law enforcement that has not been tested by prosecutors or by the court system is not necessarily a reliable basis for imposing league discipline.

Finally, it is our understanding that the criminal proceedings involving Mr. Rice are considered an open matter, and that so long as he is in the pretrial diversion program, no information will be made available to third parties or the public.