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Goodell will announce the names of this year's rookie draft class within shouting distance of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)CLEVELAND – Roger Goodell's leaving his man cave for this year's NFL draft. It’s about fans having hope with new players, clubs having hope," said O'Reilly, Vice President, Club Business & League Events. "The general message is that certainly we want to welcome fans, not only from Cleveland but outside as well,” O'Reilly said. While it might not be the full-blown draft Cleveland was hoping to host when it was awarded the annual event, it's better than not having one.

Owner Dan Snyder hired lawyer Beth Wilkinson to conduct an independent investigation in July after several female former employees made allegations of workplace sexual harassment. The NFL in July took over control of the investigation. “There must be accountability for the actions we believe are detailed in this report,” the employees wrote in their letter to Goodell. AdSeventeen former employees signed the letter to Goodell by name and three others anonymously. “For its own credibility, it is crucial that the NFL release the investigative report, while also protecting from disclosure any witnesses who requested confidentiality.

Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league has found new avenues of communication that will be common in future seasons. “Virtual meetings have now become standard in the NFL; we are not going to have as much (in-person) meetings when we get back,” Goodell said Wednesday at the NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum. “The draft is an example” of the effectiveness of the technology the NFL used, Goodell noted. “One of the things we talked about throughout the last year was how do we learn from what we are going through?” Goodell said. It also gave us opportunities to find new ways of doing things that actually are quite popular.”Ad___More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL