I may be cynical, but I just have trouble believing that the league will permit a report that casts it in as negative a light as some here are hoping/thinking.
Yes, Wells is from a reputable firm and I'm sure they will do good work, and what they tell Goodell behind closed doors might be brutally frank in its assessment regarding the league and Kensil and everyone just making a mess of things. That being said, as a practical matter, there's no rules of procedure or rules of discovery that dictate that Goodell can't have some input on what areas of the investigation are emphasized or glossed over in the final report that gets released to the press. It's not like Congress or some other government entity is performing an investigation, the entirety of which will be available through a FOIA request. Wells and his associates are required to keep their conversations/dealings with Goodell confidential.
At the end of the day, the Wells report will say, at least in part, what Goodell wants it to say.
This is what Rachel Nichols was getting at, and which Goodell made a condescending remark towards. Unfortunately, rather than (or at least, in addition to) people picking up the thread of what Nichols was saying, they focused on Goodell being an asshole.
Yes, Wells is from a reputable firm and I'm sure they will do good work, and what they tell Goodell behind closed doors might be brutally frank in its assessment regarding the league and Kensil and everyone just making a mess of things. That being said, as a practical matter, there's no rules of procedure or rules of discovery that dictate that Goodell can't have some input on what areas of the investigation are emphasized or glossed over in the final report that gets released to the press. It's not like Congress or some other government entity is performing an investigation, the entirety of which will be available through a FOIA request. Wells and his associates are required to keep their conversations/dealings with Goodell confidential.
At the end of the day, the Wells report will say, at least in part, what Goodell wants it to say.
This is what Rachel Nichols was getting at, and which Goodell made a condescending remark towards. Unfortunately, rather than (or at least, in addition to) people picking up the thread of what Nichols was saying, they focused on Goodell being an asshole.