Mike Florio Blasts Authorities In Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins' 1-Year Old Investigation That Has Not Yielded Criminal Charges

Mike Florio, who was an attorney before devoting himself full-time to Pro Football Talk made his weekly appearance on the The PM Team w/ Poni & Mueller and shared his thoughts on the pending lawsuit. Florio did not hold back his thoughts when prompted by Andrew Fillipponi.

“I thought it was something to see the most explosive allegation sort of tucked into the middle of the press release,” Florio began. “The press release focuses on initially the notion that the driver was possibly distracted. The truck was overloaded, there was some responsibility there for the driver of the dump truck. Then they just throw in casually that he was possibly drugged as some sort of blackmail scheme. That was news to me, that was news to everyone.”

The NFL and the Steelers were shocked by the sudden loss of Haskins last April in what until now has been thought to have been a tragic accident with bad decisions on all sides. The attorney’s statement that was released by Rapoport alludes to the fact that Haskins may have been intentionally targeted and that his watch was stolen shortly before his death. Florio expressed outrage that this was being addressed through a civil suit.

“The lawsuit process is going to bring some of this stuff to light,” Florio stated. “I think there needs to be a criminal process if there is any truth to this idea he was being blackmailed, he was being drugged and manipulated or whatever the case may be. That is nuts to see that, I hope if there is any truth to it, the proper authorities look into that and take action.”

It is not known what the status of any criminal investigation is and if any conclusions have been drawn. It is possible that foul play was dismissed as a possibility due to lack of evidence, but it is equally possible that authorities are still investigating. The timing of the suit calls into question the progress of any criminal investigation. Generally, the criminal proceedings strengthen a civil suit so it may be that Ellsley moved forward because he does not believe charges are forthcoming.

“This isn’t about a settlement or judgment that involves money,” Florio emphasized. “This is about putting someone’s butt in jail.”

It is outrageous that if Haskins was targeted and killed because of criminal activity, the only accountability would be through civil action. Florio’s point is that if these allegations are true, that the primary focus should be targeting the responsible parties for criminal prosecution and incarceration is on target. It could just be an inflammatory statement by an aggressive attorney, but the local authorities should at least release details if the investigation is ongoing in light of this information.