The two NFL owners overseeing the investigation into how the league pursued and handled evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence case have pledged to make the findings of the probe public, and say their goal is "to get the truth."
New York Giants co-owner John Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney, both close confidants of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, said they would not be conducting or directing the investigation. They said it would have no timeline, and that former FBI director Robert Mueller was set to begin work immediately.
They said the inquiry's focus will be on what efforts were made to obtain video evidence of the three-time Pro Bowl running back striking his fiancee; if the video arrived at the league office; and what happened to it after it was delivered.
"Our sole motive here is to get the truth and then share Mr Mueller's findings with the public," Rooney and Mara said in a joint statement.
The probe - which the league has called independent - was announced on Wednesday, hours after The Associated Press reported that a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, sent a video to an NFL executive in April of Rice striking Janay Palmer at an Atlantic City casino.
Goodell has claimed repeatedly the NFL didn't see a full account of the fight until Monday, when TMZ posted it. Rice was released by the Baltimore Ravens after the video went viral. The team had previously stood by him.
The law enforcement official said he wasn't authorised to release the video, but wanted the NFL to have it as it decided on the Rice case. He played a 12-second voicemail confirming receipt of the video. A female voice expresses thanks and says: "You're right. It's terrible."
As Mueller begins to examine the case, he will likely start with Goodell's top administrators.
Those on Mueller's radar are NFL general counsel Jeff Pash; director of football operations Troy Vincent; security chief Jeffrey Miller; executive vice president of human resources Robert Gulliver; and senior vice president of labour policy and government affairs Adolpho Birch.
Mueller, who led the FBI for 12 years, is a partner at WilmerHale, a Washington-based law firm with deep ties to the NFL.
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