NFL concludes that Hue Jackson's tanking allegations can't be substantiated
The NFL announced on Monday that a league-initiated investigation of tanking allegations by former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson concluded that his claims can't be substantiated.
Jackson alleged in April that the Browns encouraged him to lose games on purpose during his tenure as head coach, prompting the investigation. The NFL published a synopsis of the results of that investigation on Monday.
"Following a 60-day independent review into comments made by former Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson that the Browns paid or otherwise provided incentives to lose games during the 2016-17 seasons, former U.S. Attorney and SEC Chair Mary Jo White and a team of lawyers from the Debevoise firm determined that none of the allegations could be substantiated.
"The investigation found no evidence to suggest that the Browns' Four-Year Plan or the club's ownership or football personnel sought to lose or incentivized losses and made no decisions deliberately to weaken the team to secure a more favorable draft position.
"The comprehensive review included the full cooperation of the Browns and interviews with Jimmy Haslam and current and former members of the organization. While Coach Jackson initially agreed to meet with the investigators, he ultimately did not do so."
Jackson didn't not immediately provide a public response to the NFL's statement.
The NFL cited "thousands of pages of documents, including emails, texts, internal memos" from the Browns in reaching its conclusion.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
