Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones, acting as a neutral arbiter for Ray Rice’s appeal of his indefinite suspension, has ordered Roger Goodell to testify, something NFL lawyers were attempting to avoid.

According to ESPN, the judge has “compelled” Goodell to testify during the Nov. 5 and 6 appeal despite the NFL’s contention that it shouldn't be necessary, with the NFL’s general counsel and the VP of labor policy both already offering testimony:

NFL lawyers have argued that Goodell shouldn't have to testify, and instead were offering testimony from Jeff Pash, the NFL's general counsel, and Adolpho Birch, the NFL's vice president for labor policy. Pash and Birch were with Goodell when he met with Rice's side in June to talk about what happened when the former Pro Bowl running back hit his then-fiancee in an elevator.

Rice described details of the incident at that meeting. Goodell has called Rice's description "ambiguous" while Rice's side has maintained he gave exact details.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email the league “will continue to respect Judge Jones' confidentiality order regarding this proceeding.”

Jones was picked by both Goodell and the players' union to hear the appeal, with the union insisting at the time Goodell's testimony would be crucial to the case.