Ravens Release Ray Rice After Video Of Elevator Fight Surfaces
BOSTON (CBS) -- When Ray Rice was initially charged with hitting his then-fiancee and knocking her out in an elevator, the Baltimore Ravens supported their running back. Now, in the face of extreme public pressure following the release of a video from inside that elevator, the Ravens are cutting ties with Rice.
The Ravens announced via Twitter on Monday afternoon that the contract of Rice has been terminated.
The NFL followed this decision by issuing an indefinite suspension to Rice.
The news comes after TMZ released security camera footage from inside the elevator -- footage that clearly shows Ray Rice delivering a blow to the side of Janay Rice's head. The force of the blow knocked Janay down, and she hit her head on the railing while falling to the ground. She lay motionless on the floor of the elevator before Ray Rice began to drag her out.
The incident took place in February, and the couple married in March.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a two-game suspension to Rice following the incident, and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti expressed his public support of Rice in a story that ran on the team's official website. At that point, video had surfaced of the aftermath of the incident, with Ray dragging a lifeless Janay out of the elevator.
The couple spoke together at a press conference in May, when Janay said, "I do deeply regret the role that I played in the incident that night."
The NFL claimed Monday that league officials had never before seen the footage from inside the elevator, despite reports this summer which said they had.
"We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today."
In August, after weeks of heavy criticism, Goodell wrote a letter to the 32 team owners, admitting that he did not properly punish Rice for his actions. The commissioner introduced new rules governing domestic violence, giving first-time offenders a six-game suspension.
"I didn't get it right," Goodell wrote. "Simply put, we have to do better. And we will."
Janay Palmer would not press charges against Rice. Domestic violence experts say what happened inside the elevator may have been the conclusion of other abuse that had been going on for some time.
"Generally speaking violence is a punctuation or a period at the end of a very long sentence," said Craig Norberg-Bohn of Jane Doe Inc. "And that long sentence there's different kinds of controlling and abusive behaviors. And this is like how abusive individuals make their point, you see I just have to do a little bit more to get you to behave."
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence there are places you can turn for help. Call the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or visit www.janedoe.org.
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