What did he know, and when did he know it?

That question haunted America during Watergate. What did President Richard M. Nixon know about the bungled break-in at Democratic headquarters, and when did that knowledge crystallize?

Now the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, must answer that two-part query. The Ray Rice case has spun into a new realm with the appointment by the league on Thursday night of former FBI director Robert A. Mueller to head an independent investigation of the Case of the Elevator Video.

Did the NFL have early access to an extended version of the video showing Rice decking his fiancée? Did it cover it up? Was it truly denied the evidence it said it had asked for? The hunt for the truth (or the closest thing to it, or maybe not) begins anew.

An Associated Press report says the video was offered to the NFL in April and an unnamed executive responded to it. A law enforcement officer told the AP that receipt of the video had been acknowledged in April. A voicemail appears to back up that account. If true – and that’s a big if – then the NFL faces an even more intense backlash.

A variety of calls have come for Goodell to resign, latest from the National Organization of Women. Fans are organizing boycotts of NFL merchandise. The tarnished NFL shield can’t deflect much more. The most popular sport in the country, always known as a public relations machine, cannot control the tearing-down of its image.

We’ll wait. What can we do? We’ll see what the investigation yields and if it then requires an investigation.  We’re not done with this issue. It has shaken an American colossus.

Today’s question: What do you think this investigation will produce? Will Roger Goodell be forced from office? Answers in the comment box, please.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .