Players' Union Hires Investigator To Oversee Ray Rice Case

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The NFL players' union has hired former federal prosecutor Richard Craig Smith to oversee its investigation into the Ray Rice domestic violence case.

Smith will look at how the league and the Baltimore Ravens handled issues of due process and discipline, as well as look at the conduct of the league office and the Ravens that led to the indefinite suspension Commissioner Roger Goodell gave to Ray Rice.

The Ravens also cut Rice after video of him punching his then-fiancee in a hotel elevator went public. Originally, Goodell had given Rice a two-game suspension.

Rice and the NFL Players Association have appealed his suspension.

A former federal prosecutor, Smith is the head of regulatory and governmental investigation for the law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

The union said in a statement Wednesday it "will request that the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens cooperate in the interest of transparency."
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