The Cleveland Browns say they have welcomed an NFL investigation into the allegations Hue Jackson made in February that he was incentivized to lose games in the 2016 and 2017 seasons while serving as Cleveland’s head coach.
On Monday night, Sports Illustrated reported Mary Jo White, former chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is leading an independent probe into Jackson’s pay-to-tank accusations.
“We can confirm the NFL engaged former SEC chair Mary Jo White in February to look into allegations made by Hue Jackson against the Cleveland Browns,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy wrote in an email to the Beacon Journal. “The review is ongoing and is expected to conclude soon.”
“Even though Hue recanted his allegations a short time after they were made, it was important to us and to the integrity of the game to have an independent review of the allegations,” Browns senior vice president of communications Peter John-Baptiste said via text message. “We welcomed an investigation and we are confident the results will show, as we’ve previously stated, that these allegations are categorically false. We have fully cooperated with Mary Jo White and look forward to the findings.”
In February, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo sent to all teams and league staff “any issue relating to the integrity of NFL games … will be reviewed thoroughly and independently.”
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, left, talks head coach Hue Jackson before the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sept. 9, 2018.
Jackson, the head football coach at Grambling State University, told Sports Illustrated, “Two years ago I tried to do this the right way, through the bylaws and constitution of the National Football League, to ask them to investigate the Cleveland Browns for all…