Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reportedly wanted to release Ray Rice in February, but at a Monday press conference said the opposite was true and denied the claim in the ESPN report.
More from Baltimore Ravens
- Ravens need to give Odell Beckham Jr. a reason not to retire
- NFL Rumors: Ravens additions might not be done after signing Melvin Gordon
- NFL Power Rankings: Who is the best quarterback in each division?
- Is Mark Ingram’s new CFB gig a signal that he’s retired from NFL?
- NFL Power Rankings: Which teams will have the best rushing attacks this season?
“I did not recommend cutting Ray Rice from the team after seeing the first videotape,” Harbaugh said. “I was very disturbed by that tape, and I told people that the facts should determine the consequences. When I saw the second videotape, I immediately felt that we needed to release Ray.”
Harbaugh would also say he denied knowing what exactly happened inside the elevator on that February night in an Atlantic City casino when the public saw Rice dragging the unconscious body of his then fiancee Janay Palmer.
“Ray Rice never told me that he punched her,” Harbaugh said. “In June, when I spoke to ESPN The Magazine, it was still my understanding that Ray had not punched her and was acting defensively.”
I’m not sure how Rice could act defensively and knock here out without punching her, but perhaps Harbaugh had to take a bullet for his team after the ESPN report said the Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome did not want to release Rice.
The Ravens released Rice on Sept. 8 after a second videoptape showed him punching his fiancee (now wife) in side the elevator and the NFL subsequently increased his two-game suspension to an indefinite one which Rice is currently appealing.
More from Fansided.com
FanSided College Football top 25 Poll: Week 4
Top 10 overrated college football teams after Week 4
NFL Power Rankings after Week 3