The NFL once again came under fire recently for its inability to track down video evidence of a player getting physical with a woman, and executives from the league tried to explain why that is the case on Wednesday.
Todd Jones, an NFL executive involved in off-field discipline, described the league’s investigative powers as “limited.” He said league officials act as swiftly as possible when they are able to obtain evidence like the video in the Kareem Hunt incident, but that evidence is not always readily available.
NFL exec Todd Jones, involved in off-field discipline, describes the NFL’s investigative powers as “limited. … There is information we can’t get when we need it. But when we get it, we act on it.” But makes clear the NFL will continue to investigate along with police.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 12, 2018
As was the case with the video of Ray Rice punching his now-wife Janay Palmer in an elevator, TMZ obtained the footage of Kareem Hunt kicking and shoving a woman earlier this year without the NFL ever having seen it. Jones noted that outlets like TMZ have the option of paying for the evidence, whereas the NFL doesn’t.
NFL exec Todd Jones says it’s “not likely at all” to buy evidence videos as @TMZ does. He points out it would open a “Pandora’s box” of issues, while also saying the league doesn’t have journalistic, First Amendment privilege to protect sources.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 12, 2018
The incident with Hunt took place at a Cleveland hotel, and police in the city are investigating whether or not the allegations of assault against Hunt were handled properly. NFL officials said previously that they immediately requested footage from hotel surveillance cameras after learning of the incident, but the hotel said it would only turn the footage over to law enforcement. It’s unclear why police never followed up.
While it makes sense that the NFL would be unable to pay for information the way TMZ would, that doesn’t explain some of the other reports from the Hunt investigation that make the league look extremely shady.
