In the wake of footage released by TMZ of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in February at the Revel Hotel in Atlantic City, Mrs. Rice has come to his defense.
According to the Baltimore Sun, she broke her silence on Instagram Tuesday morning (Sept. 9), describing the situation as a “horrible nightmare.”
Meanwhile, the league is coming under fire for “dropping the ball” in failing to secure the tape months ago. The NFL issued a follow-up statement Tuesday, saying, “Security for Atlantic City casinos is handled by the New Jersey State Police. Any videos related to an ongoing criminal investigation are held in the custody of the state police. As we said yesterday: We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator. That video was not made available to us.”
A Revel spokesman also told ABC News that the casino made a copy of the elevator surveillance video for police while the New Jersey State Police called out the league for making an inaccurate statement in response to inquiries from ABC News.
“Investigations of incidents on the casino floor are handled by the NJSP, but this occurred in the elevator and was handled by the [Atlantic City Police Department],” an NJSP spokesman said. “We never had the video.”
Hours after the video surfaced, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Monday (Sept. 7) that Rice was indefinitely suspended by the league while the Ravens terminated his contract.