A video showing Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his fiancee in an Atlantic City hotel elevator surfaced early Monday. TMZ released the video, which is NSFW because of its graphic nature.
Before Monday's clip, a video released earlier this year showed Rice dragging an apparently unconscious Janay Palmer out of the elevator. Rice was not sentenced to jail and received a two-game NFL suspension, which drew criticism.
The latest video shows Rice and Janay Palmer entering the elevator, and even before the doors close, Rice tries to punch her. Palmer, who has since married Rice, rushes Rice before he lands a knockout punch, leaving her in a heap on the floor.
It's unclear how long the two were in the elevator, but Rice looks down at her on the elevator floor. When the doors open, he drags her out.
Eventually, Palmer wakes up and appears to be comforted by onlookers.
Rice was indicted on a third-degree assault charge, but entered a pretrial diversionary program and avoided jail time. According to ESPN New York's Jane McManus, the NFL had access to the full elevator video.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen, however, says the league had not watched the video. This is getty muddy.
According to CBSSports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, the Ravens hadn't seen the video but were aware of its contents.
At a news conference in May, Rice apologized but did not address his wife during the apology, and Palmer said that she bore some of the brunt of the blame as well.
"There are consequences when you make a mistake like that," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said at the time. "I stand behind Ray. He's a heck of a guy. He's done everything right since. He made a mistake. He's gonna have to pay a consequence. It's good for kids to understand it works that way. That's how it works. That's how it should be."
Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was heavily criticized for what was seen as a lenient punishment of Rice, recently sent a letter to owners in which he said "I didn't get it right. Simply put, we have to do better."
Since then, the NFL has announced that a domestic violence offense will bring a six-game suspension while a second incident results in a lifetime ban.
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