As the Ray Rice Video Scandal deepens and widens, it's unclear who knew what when about the damning videotape of Rice striking then-fiancee Janay Palmer. What is clear: where commissioner Roger Goodell was when the tape arrived on April 9 at the NFL's New York offices.
Goodell was in Augusta, a freshly-minted member of Augusta National Golf Club, the host club of the Masters. Membership at Augusta is reserved for only the elite of the elite — if you have to ask how to get in, it's not going to happen for you — and confers with it the right to wear the fabled green jacket on the grounds of the club during the Masters.
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That's where Goodell was spotted, in the shadow of Augusta's famed clubhouse:
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at Augusta National today, apparently he's a member sporting a green jacket #Masters pic.twitter.com/MSCd0FCmZt
— Matt Zahn (@mattzahnsports) April 9, 2014
At the time, the most pressing NFL stories were whether DeSean Jackson had gang ties, and whether Johnny Manziel would be drafted first overall. Ah, such innocent days.
To be fair, when you're headed out of town on vacation, the mail can pile up. And who wants to hear from the office when you're at the golf course?
Of course, Augusta is no fan of public controversy, and in terms of public scrutiny, Goodell's appearance at next year's Masters would be second only to Tiger Woods' in 2010 after the exposure of Woods' many infidelities. When Augusta wants to strip you of your membership, the legend goes, there's no formal excommunication; you simply stop receiving annual dues notices. We imagine Mr. Goodell will be watching his mailbox closely for more reasons than one over the next few months.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or find him on Facebook or on Twitter.
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