Ravens Respond To Ray Rice Video
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Hours after the Baltimore Ravens announced the termination of running back Ray Rice, Head Coach John Harbaugh held a press conference explaining the decision, which was based on newly released video obtained by TMZ.com showing Rice getting into a physical altercation with his then-fiancé at an Atlantic City hotel in February.
"It's something we saw for the first time today, all of us. It changed things," John Harbaugh said.
In the video, Rice and his now-wife, Janay Palmer are seen arguing.
Click here to watch Lauren Pastrana's report.
At one point, he lunges at her, she appears to respond by raising a hand to him, and the Rice punches Palmer.
Palmer was knocked unconscious.
The video shows Rice dragging Palmer out of the elevator. That portion of the video was previously released by TMZ.
"That's not me, My actions were totally inexcusable, that something I Have to live with the rest of my life," Rice said at a press conference in July.
He was initially handed a two-game suspension.
But on Monday, as the newly released video quickly spread across the league, the Ravens decided to cut ties with the 27-year-old Pro-Bowler and announced the move in a tweet.
"When someone that you care about does wrong, and is faced with the consequences of doing wrong, it is tough. My pain is for both of them as a couple," Harbaugh said.
"It's really sad what happened to that young lady in that video," said Somy Ali, an advocate for domestic violence victims based out of Broward.
Ali said her organization, No More Tears, previously sent NFl Commissioner Roger Goodell a letter calling for a harsher punishment for Rice.
"I think athletes are not above the law. They should not be above the law. It's about the time the NFL did something," Ali told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana.
Rice has been suspended from the league indefinitely, a penalty many people even outside of the sports world find fitting.
"We should have zero tolerance for these sorts of things. Especially in the National Football League. He has a right to work. But playing in the NFL is a privilege and i think you lose that privilege when you do something like that," Senator Marco Rubio told TMZ Sports.
Even the White House is chiming in.
Spokesman Josh Earnest released a statement, which reads, in part-- "Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that's true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something that's bigger than football - and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it."
NFL players who rarely criticize each other publicly made their feelings clear Monday on Rice through social media and in interviews.
Reaction was swift and powerful.
Here's a sampling:
—Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton on Twitter:
"That man should be thrown out the nfl and thrown into jail. Shame on those deciding his punishment. Smh"
"As players we must speak up. Stand up for what's right. I don't give a damn who u are or how much money you make. No place for this."
"This video makes me sick to my stomach."
"As players we always speak on how we are unfairly treated, well now what?"
—Saints tackle Zach Strief:
"I don't know Ray Rice, but I know that video is disturbing. It's tough to see and it's unacceptable. ... It's upsetting."
—Steelers cornerback William Gay:
"We're talking about a life, I don't care about a sport when it comes down to domestic violence. This is real. Someone can lose their life to it.
"So I'm not concerned about the sport. I'm concerned about what happens in the world, what happens in real life. "
Gay's mother, Carolyn, was shot and killed by Gay's stepfather in Tallahassee, Florida, when Gay was 7 years old. He volunteers at the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh and is an advocate for domestic violence victims.
"We need to do everything we can to help Ray Rice because we don't need to run away from him and say he's evil."
—Bills coach Doug Marrone, who supports Vera House, which assists victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse:
"Am I happy the NFL has taken a harder stance? ... I mean, there is no excuse for abuse. I really believe that."
—Coach Kyle Flood of Rutgers, where Rice attended:
"Family is family, but at Rutgers we hold ourselves to an extremely high standard, and we expect a lot out of our players, and we expect a lot out of the coaches and the staff that we have here ... we expect a lot out of our alumni. I think because of those expectations, this is a sad day.
"Ray will always be a part of our family. The video I saw this morning was difficult to watch. As a husband and as a father, there's nothing that could justify what I saw on that video.
"This is a sad day for Ray and a sad day for Rutgers."
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