The NFL “will look at all the facts” regarding New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch after his name appeared 440 times in the latest batch of Epstein files released by the US Justice Department last week.
“Absolutely, we will look at all the facts,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday ahead of Super Bowl LX in San Jose, CA (h/t NFL.com). “We’ll look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the [NFL’s personal conduct] policy. I think we’ll take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”
In a statement released Friday, Tisch said that he knew convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but that their conversations were about “adult women” and that they discussed “movies, philanthropy, and investments.” He denied going to Epstein’s island, which allegedly hosted numerous politicians and celebrities.
Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell in August 2019.
Goodell could not confirm whether the NFL was opening an investigation, and also pumped the brakes on when asked whether Tisch, 76, could be disciplined by the NFL.
“You may be getting ahead of yourself… We are going to look at all the facts,” Goodell said. “We are going to look at the context of those and try to understand that… I don’t even know the status of all the release. I know that 3 million documents came out last week. Listen, we’ll continue to follow any of the facts that come up and determine if we open an investigation based on those facts.”
It is not unprecedented for the NFL to fine team owners even if they are associated, but not guilty, of illegal activity. Especially with “ownership and club or league management [having] traditionally been held to a higher standard and will be subject to more significant discipline when violations of the personal conduct policy occur.”
“Everyone who is part of the league must refrain from ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL,'” the league’s personal conduct policy reads. “It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime in a court of law. We are all held to a higher standard and must conduct ourselves in a way that is responsible, promotes the values of the NFL, and is lawful.”
Former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder was fined $60 million by the league following an investigation into workplace misconduct.
