Roger Goodell: NFL Assumed Elevator Footage Existed But Never Saw It
BOSTON (CBS) -- Roger Goodell has broken his silence on the new footage of Ray Rice assaulting his then-fiancee in a casino elevator, evidence released by TMZ which led to the running back getting released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely from the NFL.
The NFL commissioner told CBS' Norah O'Donnell that the league never saw the footage from inside the elevator.
"We assumed that there was a video," Goodell said. "We asked for the video ... but we were never granted that opportunity."
Rice was arrested in February after the altercation with his then-fiancee Janay Palmer. At the time, TMZ posted video of Ray dragging the lifeless body of Janay out of the hotel elevator.
The couple married in March, and the criminal charges were dropped after Ray agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program.
Goodell suspended Rice for the first two games of the season, and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti offered public support of his running back.
Yet hours after the new video was released on Monday, the Ravens terminated the running back's contract. Shortly thereafter, Goodell suspended Rice indefinitely.
"We had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator," Goodell told O'Donnell.
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