The National Football League\u2019s (\u201cNFL\u201d or \u201cLeague\u201d) investigation into the New England Patriots\u2019 use of deflated game balls in the AFC Championship Game is now focused on a locker room attendant.\u00a0 The attendant allegedly took the game balls from the officiating crew\u2019s locker room to a bathroom on the way to the field.<\/p>\n
The NFL has been a pioneer in incorporating the use of cameras and video replays into its games. \u00a0It should, therefore, not be surprising that the league is in possession of a video that may be relevant to the controversy.\u00a0 In particular, the video shows the locker room attendant entering and exiting the bathroom in 90 seconds with the 24 footballs.<\/p>\n
Whether the attendant did anything to the footballs while he was in the bathroom remains unknown. \u00a0What is certain, however, is that the investigation will not be concluded before the Super Bowl. Ted Wells, the investigator hired by the NFL, has stated that he expects the investigation to last several more weeks.\u00a0 So far, nearly 40 interviews have been conducted, including\u00a0Patriots\u00a0personnel, game officials, and third parties with relevant information and expertise.<\/p>\n
In addition to Wells, the NFL has also retained Renaissance Associates, an investigatory firm to assist in reviewing electronic and video information.\u00a0 This is not the first time that an NFL investigation focused on a video and relied heavily on the forensic inspection of electronic information.<\/p>\n
Earlier this football season the NFL asked former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to lead an independent inquiry into the NFL\u2019s investigation of the February 15, 2014 incident involving Ray Rice and his then-fianc\u00e9e Janay Palmer. The investigation addressed two issues: \u00a01) Did the NFL possess or view the in-elevator video of Mr. Rice and Ms. Palmer from the Revel Casino before it was publicly released?\u00a0\u00a0and 2)\u00a0What information was obtained by, provided or available to the NFL during its investigation of the Rice incident?<\/p>\n
As part of that inquiry, Mueller retained a digital forensic company to collect and image, and then search, the computers and mobile phones of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other senior executives of the League, and those who reported to them, as well as computers in the League\u2019s mailroom and video conference rooms. In addition, the investigators searched more than 400 computers connected to the League\u2019s network for any digital traces or sign of the in-elevator video. Mueller found no evidence that the in-elevator video was or had been stored or viewed on a League computer prior to the video\u2019s public release.<\/p>\n
The NFL\u2019s use of forensic inspection shows that the importance of forensic evidence is not limited to litigation. \u00a0In fact, companies in varying industries have been using forensic inspection with increasing frequency to uncover employee misconduct.\u00a0 For example,\u00a0 companies often\u00a0perform a forensic inspection of a departing employee\u2019s laptop to determine whether company information has been misappropriated.\u00a0 The forensic inspection of employees\u2019 emails and text messages is often a focal point\u00a0of investigations\u00a0into alleged acts of sexual harassment.<\/p>\n
With the advent of technology, significantly larger amounts of information is being stored in electronic form. \u00a0Given this backdrop, employers should consider the following:<\/p>\n
As the majority of businesses\u2019 documents and records (including those documents constituting confidential information or trade secrets) are stored digitally, the use of forensic inspections is more important now than ever.\u00a0 Employers should understand how electronic information is stored and take steps to preserve and protect such information from destruction, disclosure and theft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The National Football League\u2019s (\u201cNFL\u201d or \u201cLeague\u201d) investigation into the New England Patriots\u2019 use of deflated game balls in the AFC Championship Game is now focused on a locker room attendant.\u00a0 The attendant allegedly took the game balls from the officiating crew\u2019s locker room to a bathroom on the way to the field. The NFL […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[91,86,92,81,96,97,98,99],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n