CBS EXCLUSIVE: Goodell Answers Questions About Ray Rice Video
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell answered tough questions about what the league knew about that elevator video, and when.
In his first public comment on the controversy since Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens lost his job, and then was barred from the NFL indefinitely, Goodell told Norah O'Donnell of the "CBS Morning News" that he had not seen the videotape of what occurred inside the casino elevator until Monday, when TMZ released the video online.
On the disturbing tape, Rice can be seen punching his then-fiancée, now wife, and knocking her to the floor, before the elevator door opens, and he drags her outside.
O'Donnell asked, "Did you really need to see the video of him punching her to make the decision [to bar him from the league]?"
Goodell responded "No, we didn't. What we saw on the first tape was troubling to us, but, what we saw yesterday was extremely clear, graphic, and sickening."
Goodell said he couldn't rule out Rice returning to the NFL, but it would depend on Rice's actions going forward.
"We have to be confident that Rice has addressed the [domestic violence] issue clearly," Goodell said.
Meanwhile, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti wrote an open letter to fans saying, "I am sorry I let you down."
"We were wrong in not pursuing our own investigation [into the Rice incident] more vigorously," he added.
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