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NFL in the dark on Rice video [China Daily: Hong Kong Edition](China Daily: Hong Kong Edition Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Commissioner Goodell says league denied access to 'sickening' film As questions arose about how the NFL investigated domestic violence allegations against Ray Rice, commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday the league asked for, but was not given, video showing the ex-Ravens running back punching his then-fiancee in an elevator. Goodell told CBS that "no one in the NFL, to my knowledge" had seen a new video of what happened in the elevator until it was posted online. "We assumed that there was a video. We asked fo rvideo. But we were never granted that opportunity," Goodell said. Two videos, one released by TMZ Sports and another shown later to Associated Press by a law enforcement official, show Rice punching Janay Palmer - who is now his wife - at an Atlantic City casino in February. The videos are graphic and show more detail than an initial video released by TMZ in July that showed Rice dragging her from an elevator. After the latest TMZ video made its way around the Internet, the Ravens cut Rice and the league barred him indefinitely. But the video renewed criticism about the NFL's decision to initially suspend Rice for just two games and raised questions about how strenuously the case was investigated. Goodell previously said he "didn't get it right" with Rice and the league set up new penalties for domestic violence: a six-game suspension for a first offense, at least a year for a second. "I would tell you that what we saw in the first videotape was troubling to us, in and of itself," Goodell said. "But what we saw yesterday was extremely clear, is extremely graphic, and it was sickening. And that's why we took the action we took yesterday." In the videos that surfaced on Monday, Rice and Palmer are seen hitting each other before he knocks her off her feet and into a railing. The higher-quality video shown to AP shows Rice made no attempt to cover up what happened. After Palmer collapses, he drags her out of the elevator and is met by some hotel staff. Someone is heard saying, "She's drunk, right?" And then, "No cops." Rice did not respond. The video was shown to AP on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to release it. Palmer defended her husband on her Instagram account on Tuesday, saying that barring Rice from playing was "horrific" and that making the couple "relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing". Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he met with owner Steve Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome after they saw the TMZ video and they made the decision to let Rice go. The action represented a complete reversal for the team, which had initially supported Rice. He had been charged with felony aggravated assault in the case but in May he was accepted into a pretrial intervention program that allowed him to avoid jail time and could lead to the charge being purged from his record. In a letter to fans, Bisciotti said the team should have done more to get the video as the investigation continued and it was a "mistake" not to. He said the team tried to get the video from the casino and law enforcement but the casino would not share it and that authorities refused. It is common for law enforcement to decline to release evidence when an investigation is ongoing. "We should have seen it earlier. We should have pursued our own investigation more vigorously," the letter said. "We didn't and we were wrong." Rice, 27, has not spoken publicly since the team cut him and his lawyer, Michael Diamondstein, declined an AP request for comment. Rice stood to make $4 million this year. In addition to his salary, he will also lose income from canceled endorsement deals. Nike announced it has severed its business ties with him and video game publisher Electronic Arts said it would scrub Rice's image from its latest Madden'15 release. In his last public statement this summer, Rice expressed regret: "I let so many people down because of 30 seconds of my life that I know I can't take back." Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice assaulted his then fiancee in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino in February. Patrick Semansky / Associated Press (China Daily 09/11/2014 page24) (c) 2014 China Daily Information Company. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |