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NFLPA hires former fed prosecutor

NFL, Baltimore Ravens

WASHINGTON -- 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 and will look at the conduct of the league office and the Ravens that led to the indefinite suspension commissioner Roger Goodell ultimately gave to Rice.

The Ravens cut Rice after video of the running back punching his then-fiancée in a hotel elevator went public. Originally, Goodell had given Rice a two-game suspension. Rice and the NFL Players Association have appealed the indefinite 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."

Rice has retained attorney Peter Ginsberg, who represented former Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, a legal source confirmed. Ginsberg will challenge the discipline the NFL imposed on Rice.

The NFLPA hired the firm of Fulbright & Jaworski to help the union investigate the New Orleans Saints' "Bountygate" case in 2012. Fulbright & Jaworski, in 2013, merged with Norton Rose to create the law firm of Norton Rose Fulbright. That firm also was hired by the NFLPA to work on the Miami Dolphins' Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin bullying case.

As for Rice's appeal, the union's case will be focused on what it believes is a failure of due process and double jeopardy. The union expects to work with the league to fix shortcomings in the current system under the personal conduct policy, sources said.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN's Darren Rovell, Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter is included in this report.

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