The February altercation between Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his then-fiancee have come to the forefront of the NFL on Monday after TMZ released video of it. The Ravens then acted and released Rice on Monday and roughly 20 minutes later the NFL followed suit by suspending him indefinitely.
The question still remains about whether the team or league saw the video before the initial two-game suspension was handed down. If the video was seen, then the punishment is especially deplorable, though the party line seems to be the that they didn’t see the video.
We keep hearing that the NFL had access to the same evidence police did, without clarification of what that evidence was. You’d think the police department got their hands on the elevator tape and the NFL saw it, then only when it was released to the public and pressure mounted did they buckle.
The Ravens didn’t necessarily say they didn’t see the video, but they did say that they were told a softer version of the events. The question is who told them these “softer” version of events? Rice, who would be trying to cover his ass and make it seem less severe then it was?
Way to do due diligence.
I've been told that the Ravens were told a "softer" version of the events that were shown on the videotape.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) September 8, 2014