Who Pays for the NFL Investigation?

josh · Nov 11, 2013

Does it just come with being part of the NFL, like towing within 250 miles of your house if you're a AAA member?

It's got to be expensive, and all the reporting just says Ross asked the NFL to investigate, and they are.

cuchulainn · Nov 11, 2013

The NFL has lawyers working directly for it. The commissioner is a lawyer. They keep other lawyers on retainer... you'd be shocked at the money that the NFL generates. Keeping lawyers on hand is like insurance for the common man...

Fineas · Nov 11, 2013

cuchulainn said:

The NFL has lawyers working directly for it. The commissioner is a lawyer. They keep other lawyers on retainer... you'd be shocked at the money that the NFL generates. Keeping lawyers on hand is like insurance for the common man...
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The investigation isn't being done by the NFL's in-house lawyers. It is being done by Ted Wells of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Wells' hourly rate is likely in excess of $1,000 and even the younger associates working on the matter will have rates well over $500 per hour. This investigation will be expensive and I suspect that Ross will be paying for it, as he is the one that requested it. He's got the money though.

Stringer Bell · Nov 11, 2013

Prob will cost ~$100k. League will pick up the tab.

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GreysonWinfield · Nov 11, 2013

The fans will pay, the game will suffer and ticket prices will escalate.

Fineas · Nov 11, 2013

Stringer Bell said:

Prob will cost ~$100k. League will pick up the tab.

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It will cost waaayyyy more than that. Could easily hit $1 million if it goes on for more than a few weeks and depending on how they staff it (and Paul, Weiss doesn't staff things lightly).

Aquafin · Nov 11, 2013

I am worried about the ramifications such as losing draft picks .

Stringer Bell · Nov 11, 2013

Fineas said:

It will cost waaayyyy more than that. Could easily hit $1 million if it goes on for more than a few weeks and depending on how they staff it (and Paul, Weiss doesn't staff things lightly).
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I dont think it will be very intensive. Just my opinion though.

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mcdave21 · Nov 11, 2013

I doubt it'll go a few weeks. Aren't they supposed to release findings on Thursday?

Fineas · Nov 12, 2013

Stringer Bell said:

I dont think it will be very intensive. Just my opinion though.

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That's not what's been reported. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...nfl-investigation-will-be-sweeping-exhaustive

Special counsel Ted Wells, who is investigating issues of alleged verbal abuse and workplace harassment toward Dolphins players and tackle Jonathan Martin, already began interviewing some close to the situation last week and will be in California in the coming days to interview Martin and others. The interviews are likely to be ongoing for several weeks, sources said, with the results presented to Commissioner Roger Goodell and also made public.

Guard Richie Incognito, who was suspended by the team after it learned of transcripts of text messages and voice mails he sent Martin, is also in California, seeking counsel and support from his agent, David Dunn, whose agency is based in Irvine.

Wells, according to sources, has a lengthy list of interview subjects and plans to be meticulous and diligent as he probes broader issues besides just the inter-personal dynamics between Martin and Incogntio, including the larger locker room culture there, how pervasive issues of bullying and harassment might be, and what role, if any the coaching staff, management, and ownership may have played -- implicit or complicit -- in the team's handling and control of workplace issues.

Martin already turned over evidence of Incognito calling him a “half-n----r” and making threats at him and family members and Martin's lawyer, David Cornwell released a statement Thursday night which includes language from a text invoking a sexual act toward Martin's sister, and, furthermore, Cornwell alleged there was an incident of physical abuse toward Martin as well. A source said that incident in question took place in 2012, Martin's rookie season, away from the team facility, but that it was witnessed by Dolphins players.

The league office is taking the matter incredibly seriously and league sources said that, pending Wells' findings, it could result in new changes to protocols or certain language in the league's code of conduct and workplace safety regulations. Some believe that, given the broad scope that Wells is applying to the matter, individuals like Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland could face particular scrutiny, and Wells will be very interested in determining how much the Dolphins knew or did not know, how much they perhaps should have known and if those in power in any way fostered an environment that may have allowed things to fester.

Some within the league office are interested as to whether Stephen Ross, whose tenure as owner has been pocked by unusual situations -- attempting to hire a head coach before he had fired his, for instance, and with Ireland asking Dez Bryant during a pre-draft interview if his mother was a prostitute -- is in any way negligent as well. Ross is something of an absentee owner -- spending quite a bit of time in New York where his business interests remain -- and numerous league sources have pointed to a leadership chasm in the organization, with some unsure of the chain of command on given matters, and swaying factions.

Even the team's delayed and unusual approach to Martin's departure will be probed, sources said, as for nearly a week the Dolphins made almost no comment on the matter, had limited contact with Martin or his representatives and made no attempt on their own to determine what was going on until finally asking the NFL to intervene after the racially offensive texts were presented to them last Sunday, six days after Martin left. Is that indicative of larger cultural issues there or a lack of institutional control? How much instruction, if any, did Incognito and other veterans receive from the coaches in regards to “toughening up” Martin.

Other questions that will be examined:
•Did players have ample resources available and had the Dolphins established sufficient protocols so that a player in distress might feel comfortable asking for help?
•Should Martin's position coaches, at the very least, had an indication of what was going on among the players they coach.
•Should Ireland and coach Joe Philbin have been more inclined to aid Martin once they did become aware of his distressed mental state?
•Should the team's player engagement department have been more involved and did the organization sufficient hire and empower them to be in position to act as a liaison between Martin and the club?
•Why wasn't more effort made to reach out to Martin immediately following his departure?
•How widespread and accepted is it for white players on the team to use the N-word and direct it toward African-American teammates?
•Were the Dolphins veterans putting undue or unusual pressure on rookies to pay for dinners and trips in a manner outside of the norm of NFL locker rooms?
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Stringer Bell · Nov 12, 2013

Fineas said:

That's not what's been reported. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...nfl-investigation-will-be-sweeping-exhaustive
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Right, I'm not buying what the NFL is selling.

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