Bears Chairman McCaskey Has 'Complete Faith' In Roger Goodell
(CBS) In the wake of an independent investigation being conducted into the NFL's handling of the Ray Rice saga, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey expressed support for commissioner Roger Goodell and the league in a statement Thursday afternoon.
"We welcome the independent investigation to understand the handling of evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence case," McCaskey's statement read. "It is important to know the facts. NFL fans deserve them.
"Our family has complete faith in the commissioner. He is a man of integrity and has acknowledged the initial response to Mr. Rice's situation was inadequate. We agreed with his assessment and were encouraged he took measures to take a much stronger stance on domestic violence. We believe in the importance of the NFL's position as a leader in the community and expect the League, and its teams, to meet the high standards that come with this responsibility."
Former FBI director Robert Mueller is spearheading the independent investigation into the league's handling of the Rice scandal. That hire has led to some criticism, as Mueller has past connections to Ravens president Dick Cass, and he'll be overseen by NFL John Mara and Art Rooney II.
Goodell has maintained that until Monday, no one in the NFL office had seen video of Rice knocking his then-fiancee Janay into unconsciousness in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February. But Goodell and the NFL came under extreme heat Wednesday afternoon when the AP reported that a law enforcement official had sent a video of the incident to an NFL executive in April.