Quick: Blazers Commissioned Former FBI Investigator for Billups Hire

The Trail Blazers failed to provide details regarding the process that went into hiring incoming Head Coach Chauncey Billups during a press conference on Tuesday. On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Jason Quick cited an anonymous team source that explained that the Blazers hired a former FBI investigator to look into the 1997 rape allegation that is tied to Billups.

In the aftermath of the Blazers’ press conference on Tuesday, Quick detailed new information regarding process that went into hiring Billups.

A source says the team commissioned a former FBI investigator to retrace the case. Witnesses were re-interviewed. Tapes of past interviews were watched. Billups, in his interviews with the team, was questioned about the particulars. Olshey, however, told the press conference — which was being broadcast live by a Portland television station — that the details of who did the investigation and what they found was “proprietary” information. “You are just going to have to take us at our word that we hired an experienced firm who ran an investigation that gave us the results that we’ve already discussed.”

When asked about the investigative process during the press conference, Blazers President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey explained that information tied to the investigation is “proprietary”.

Following Tuesday’s press conference, Yahoo Sports contributor Jack Baer raised questions about the investigation that the Blazers conducted.

How an investigation into an incident more than two decades in the past with zero independent eyewitnesses was able to make the team confident in its coach’s innocence, all in the span of a few weeks, is impossible to say.

You can re-visit the key parts from Tuesday’s press conference by clicking here.