NFL Sponsor FedEx Gets Pulled Into Ray Rice Controversy, Issues Statement

When news broke Wednesday that law enforcement officials had indeed sent the second Ray Rice video to the NFL, some media and fans immediately started calling for Roger Goodell's head. They had lost trust in a league that claimed it never had access to the video.

The league has hired former FBI director Robert Mueller to investigate. But in the meantime, some of the focus will turn to NFL corporate sponsors and how they respond to this mess.

FedEx is one of these corporations, and it finds itself in an awkward situation. The AP story that revealed delivery of the second video to the NFL did not cite which company was used, but FedEx got dragged into the conversation.

FedEx released a statement Thursday.

Yes, this has gotten to the point the official league courier service needs to cover its tracks. While it does not look like FedEx is looking to pull its sponsorship, thanks to an odd sequence of events, the company has the upper hand over America's most powerful sports league.

Then again, maybe the package just ended up in the wrong hands, like say, Tom Hanks' character in Cast Away.

On a different note, the investigation will be overseen by owners John Mara of the New York Giants and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mara and Rooney happen to be relatives. John Mara is the uncle of Kate Mara (House of Cards) and Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), while Art Rooney is the grandson of the women's great-grandfather, Art Rooney, Sr.

The Ray Rice story isn't the only NFL headache for FedEx, which has naming rights to the Washington Redskins' satdium. Consider this video released this week by a Native American group that is pushing for the team to change its name:

-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.