NFL claims it never saw Ray Rice video until TMZ release

Video from inside the elevator in which Ray Rice assaulted his then-fiancee was released via TMZ earlier, which prompted further outrage from a community that was already sour on the light suspension levied against Rice. Now the NFL has doubled down on its stance by saying it had no access to the video until the time it was released to the public.

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“We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator. That video was not made available to us. And no one in our office has seen it until today,” the NFL said in a statement, per the New York Daily News.

This of course suggests somehow that TMZ has more clout in gathering information about an NFL employee’s off-field misconduct than does the NFL. We are then left with wondering whether this is an issue of incompetence or blatant disregard for right and wrong.

If we can assume the NFL is honest in its assertion that they’ve never seen this video, then that’s the best case scenario — which implies wild incompetence on the investigation team’s part. If, on the other hand, the NFL knew about this video and is simply making a show of viewing it now, this would further tarnish the image of a league that’s taken major hits in that department in the last year.