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In his postgame comments during which he called Commissioner Roger Goodell a “crook,” Steelers linebacker James Harrison made a very good point about his upcoming PED interview.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with it being filmed live,” Harrison said. “I’ve been prosecuted and persecuted, you know, publicly in the media by them for something I didn’t do. So I don’t see why we couldn’t have the media there and do a live interview. They can ask whatever questions they want and I can answer them. You all can see whatever evidence they say they got.”

The value in this approach comes not only from seeing the league’s evidence but also from preserving Harrison’s responses. During NFL investigations, it’s not, “Anything you say can and will be used against you”; it’s, “Anything you say may be twisted and warped and distorted to fit our predetermined narrative.”

When listing examples of that dynamic on Wednesday, I overlooked one of the more glaring instances of it. After the Ray Rice elevator video emerged in September 2014, the NFL indefinitely suspended Rice. Because the league already had suspended him two games for the incident (a decision that triggered intense criticism of the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell even before the video surfaced), the league needed something else to justify a second suspension. So the league claimed that Rice lied during his interview with the league, with Goodell and others contending that Rice said he had merely “slapped” his then-fiancee, who then “knocked herself out.” Others admitted that Rice admitted to doing what the video showed him doing.

Ultimately, an arbitrator had to recreate the interview by parsing through the testimony of people who attended it. If the interview had been recorded (or at least transcribed by a court reporter), there would have been no ambiguity regarding what Rice actually said.

So whether Harrison’s interview is televised (which would be great) or simply privately preserved for future reference and use, it becomes critical for Harrison and the NFLPA to insist on the creation of a clear record of everything that transpires during the interview.