NFL Players Association Hires Its Own Top D.C. Lawyer

The NFL Players Association has hired its own D.C. lawyer, Richard Craig Smith, to conduct an investigation into how the Ray Rice case was handled, it announced Wednesday.

Smith, a former federal prosecutor, will conduct his investigation in parallel to Rice’s current appeal of the league’s decision to suspend him indefinitely after a video of him punching his now-wife was leaked, the NFLPA said in a statement.