NFL-ABUSE/REPORT No evidence NFL officials viewed Ray Rice video before it was published online according to report

Record ID: 334762

  • Title: NFL-ABUSE/REPORT No evidence NFL officials viewed Ray Rice video before it was published online according to report
  • Date: 8th January 2015
  • Summary: BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RAY RICE AT BALTIMORE RAVENS PRACTICE FACILITY
  • Embargoed: 23rd January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7FBZ5W8N5P611GVMAZAMZ4BHO
  • Story Text: There was no evidence that anyone at the National Football League possessed or had seen the surveillance video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice striking his fiance last year, according to a statement from an independent investigation released on Thursday (January 8).
    The probe, led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, concluded that the league should have done a better job investigating the incident, which sparked public backlash against the most popular U.S. professional sport.
    "We found no evidence that anyone at the NFL had or saw the in-elevator video before it was publicly shown," said a release summarizing the findings of the fourth-month probe.
    The report faulted the NFL for yielding to law enforcement in Rice's case, which "led to deficiencies in the league's collection and analysis of information during its investigation," according to a statement released on Thursday.
    It also found no evidence that a league employee had acknowledged receipt of the video as had been reported.
    NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell initially suspended Rice for two games for punching Janay Palmer, who fell unconscious in an elevator during an argument at an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino in February last year.
    Goodell reversed course and suspended Rice indefinitely in September when surveillance video was released by a website showing the incident. The league had said it never saw the video and would have acted differently if it did.
    Rice, one of the league's top running backs, was also released from his $35 million contract with the Ravens.
    The affair has tarnished the reputation of the nation's most popular sport and exposed Goodell's propensity to hand down light punishments for cases of domestic abuse.
    Goodell has admitted he "didn't get it right" in such cases and many domestic abuse advocates called for his resignation last year while league sponsors sought to distance themselves from the NFL as public criticism intensified.
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