NFL’s Goodell, player union’s Smith, to testify before Congress on Vikings suspension case

NFL’s Goodell to testify on Vikings suspensions

WASHINGTON — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is returning to Capitol Hill next week, this time to testify about the case of two professional football players whose suspensions were blocked by the courts.

Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, head of the NFL players union, are among the witnesses scheduled before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee next Tuesday. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the witness list.

The league had tried to suspend two Minnesota Vikings players, Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, for violating its anti-doping policy. But last month, a federal appeals court essentially allowed them to continue playing while the players’ lawsuit proceeds in state court. Both Goodell and Smith testified before another committee this week on head injuries among NFL players.