There was no shortage of tough questions for Roger Goodell at Friday afternoon’s news conference, but no one came at Goodell harder or more frequently than Rachel Nichols.
Nichols, a reporter for Turner whose work appears on both CNN and Turner’s sportscasts on TNT and TBS, grilled Goodell on what she called his “extreme unilateral power” to decide disciplinary actions, prompting Goodell to tell her that “everything’s on the table.” (Watch the clip of the exchange above.)
When Goodell was done answering that question, Nichols followed up by telling him that the Atlantic City prosecutor’s office in New Jersey had no electronic record of the NFL asking for the video of Ray Rice slugging fiancee Janay Palmer inside a casino elevator in February.
“Certainly, our security department works with law enforcement,” Goodell answered. “They are fully cooperative. We gather almost entirely all of our information through law enforcement and that’s something else we’re going to look at, Rachel. Is that the right process? Should all of our information be gathered simply through law enforcement.”
Pressed by Nichols on whether the league asked for the video, Goodell said that, according to the league’s security department, the league asked for the video several times during the spring, from February all the way to June.
Later in the press conference, Nichols asked Goodell why the league tapped former FBI director Robert Mueller III to run an independent investigation into the league’s handling of the Ray Rice saga despite Mueller’s being a partner at a Washington, D.C., law firm that has done business in the past with the league and helped the league negotiate its NFL Sunday Ticket contract with DirecTV.
Asked by Nichols about the appearance of a conflict of interest for Mueller, Goodell got defensive, telling Nichols that as the longest-serving director of the FBI, his integrity in running the investigation could not be questioned.
Nichols, whose resume includes stints at the Washington Post and ESPN, was the topic of plenty of Twitter chatter, including a tweet from former ESPN colleague Bill Simmons.
Here's what I have learned so far – I'd feel better if Rachel Nichols was the NFL commissioner.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 19, 2014
Mueller's indep. investigation from an NFL law firm is a farce and @Rachel__Nichols called him on it. Goodell's answer was a low point.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) September 19, 2014
.@Rachel__Nichols is NFL press conference MVP.
— Eric Stangel (@EricStangel) September 19, 2014
You're my hero, @Rachel__Nichols
— Will McAvoy (@WillMcAvoyACN) September 19, 2014
.@Rachel__Nichols You have my vote for NFL Commissioner.
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) September 19, 2014
Good Q from @Rachel__Nichols about giving up unilateral power to create checks/balances. A: it's all on table. Addresses institutional flaws
— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) September 19, 2014
Rachel Nichols lands a couple haymakers, Goodell responds by almost showing human emotion.
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) September 19, 2014
GREAT question by @Rachel__Nichols there about Goodell giving up some of his unilateral power. Goodell ducks the question.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 19, 2014
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Rachel Nichols Takes on Roger Goodell at Press Conference