Roger Goodell finally faced the media on Tuesday, which seemed likes ages following the release of the Ray Rice video on Monday morning. The commissioner told CBS News that the NFL asked for all pertinent information regarding Rice's case, but was not granted the video evidence.
This was news everyone already heard. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the media shortly after the evidence was unearthed that the league requested the video from law enforcement but it "was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen in until today," he said in this ESPN article. But many were puzzled as to why TMZ Sports was able to obtain a copy of the video while the NFL - who was directly handling the situation because a player of their own was involved - failed to gain access to the evidence.
Goodell told interviewer Norah O'Donnell that he wasn't sure how TMZ Sports got the video, but the NFL relies on law enforcement for such information/evidence because it's "the most reliable and credible" means of doing so. This is likely in response to many criticizing the NFL for not contacting the Revel Hotel and Casino for the video evidence, especially after it was known they made a copy for the Atlantic City Police Department. The league claims it only had access to the first viral video that showed Rice dragging his seemingly unconscious fiancée, and now wife, Janay Palmer, out of the elevator.
The commissioner also said that when the league met with Rice and his representatives, the details surrounding the incident were ambiguous, which ultimately led to Rice's initial two-game suspension that was widely criticized. O'Donnell asked Goodell, "What was ambiguous about her lay unconscious on the floor being dragged out by her feet?" to which Goodell then responded [in this ProFootballTalk article]:
"There was nothing ambiguous about that. That was the result that we saw. We did not know what led up to that. We did not know the details of that. We asked for that on several occasions. It was unacceptable in and of itself what we saw on the first tape. And that's why we took action, albeit insufficient action. And we acknowledge that, we took responsibility for that - I did personally - and I take responsibility for that now. But what we saw [Monday] was extremely clear and graphic and was absolutely necessary for us to take the action we did."
After the NFL saw the graphic video of Rice striking his wife, the Ravens terminated the running back's contract and Goodell suspended him indefinitely. These actions, which many believe were justified, apparently don't sit well with undefeated world champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, who previously plead guilty to domestic abuse charges and spent two months in jail back in 2012.
"I think there's a lot worse things that go on in other people's households, also," said Mayweather, in this ESPN article, who believed the league was overly influenced by the latest video evidence of Rice and thinks his original two-game suspension should remain the punishment. "It's just not caught on video, if that's safe to say."
Mayweather could be right about worse things happening in such incidents, which may soon be the case with Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy. But Rice's actions were deplorable, regardless of what goes under the radar in other households, and his behavior shouldn't be downplayed because it has become ubiquitous compared to the actions of others.
