NFL, Ravens denounce Rice after damaging new video

BALTIMORE – Ray Rice was let go by the Baltimore Ravens on Monday and suspended indefinitely by the NFL after a video was released showing the running back striking his then-fiancée in February.

The grainy video, released by TMZ Sports, shows Rice and Janay Palmer in an elevator at an Atlantic City casino. Each hits the other before Rice knocks Palmer off her feet and into a railing. Months ago, a TMZ video showed Rice dragging Palmer, now his wife, from the elevator at the Revel casino, which closed Sept. 2.

Earlier Monday, the Ravens said they never saw the new video. Hours later, they sent out a one-sentence release:

"The Baltimore Ravens terminated the contract of RB Ray Rice this afternoon."

Coach John Harbaugh said he met with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass and General Manager Ozzie Newsome after they saw the video, and they made the decision to let Rice go.

"It's something we saw for the first time today, all of us," Harbaugh said. "It changed things, of course. It made things a little bit different."

The action represented a complete reversal for the team, even though an Atlantic City police summons stated that Rice caused "bodily injury to Janay Palmer, specifically by striking her with his hand, rendering her unconscious."

In late July, Harbaugh said, "The thing I appreciate about it is how Ray has handled it afterward by acknowledging it was wrong and he'll do everything he can do to make it right. That's what you ask for when someone does a wrong thing. So, I'm proud of him for that."

Asked Monday night if Rice misled him, Harbaugh said he didn't want to get into "all that."

Rice said in a news conference this summer that his actions that night were "inexcusable." But the Ravens never took action against him until after the second video was released.

The NFL, which has been working hard to promote the game to women, also took action after the explicit video was released. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that, based on the new video evidence, Rice has been suspended indefinitely.

"We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday morning. "That video was not made available to us, and no one in our office has seen it until today."

"When we're going through the process of evaluating the issue and whether there will be discipline, you look at all of the facts that you have available to us," Goodell said. "Law enforcement normally has more … information, facts, than we have. We'll get as much as we possibly can."

Rice's lawyer, Michael Diamondstein, declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press. Rice hasn't spoken often to the media since his arrest.

Rice, 27, stood to make $4 million this year. He leaves the Ravens as the second-leading rusher in franchise history, behind only Jamal Lewis. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Rice is the team's career leader in total yards from scrimmage (9,214) and is the only player in Ravens history to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons.