NFL Claims Never To Have Seen Ray Rice Video From Inside The Elevator [Video]

TMZ released a video that is very sickening to watch. It shows Baltimore Ravens Running Back Ray Rice floor his girlfriend (and now wife), Janay with a powerful left cross to the face in a elevator.

Rice was suspended two games by the NFL for the incident, but the League now claims they never saw the video released by TMZ, which leads many to believe a bigger suspension is coming.

Many people, especially those who deal daily with domestic violence, were upset earlier this year when the NFL only suspended Rice for two games following the incident, which took place in an Atlantic City casino. The only video released publicly prior to the suspension only showed RIce trying to get his clearly knocked out wife out of an elevator.

Casino spokespeople said there was additional footage of the incident, but it never was released, until yesterday.

The new footage is difficult to watch, as it shows Rice deliver a solid punch to his wife's face when she lunges toward him. Although his wife seems angered at the time, her hands are down at her side, so she has no chance to defend herself. To say the punch is brutal would be a vast understatement.

Since the Casino had claimed the existence of this video for months, it was always assumed the NFL has access to it prior to their decision on Rice's fate this summer, however an article in the sports web site the Bleacher Report article refutes that information.

The article quotes tweets by RavensInsider writer Aaron Wilson as revealing that the League had not seen any of the new footage, and may be reconsidering his punishment.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has, in the wake of the incident, re-evaluated the League's domestic abuse policy and issued a mandatory six game suspension for first offense domestic violence offenders.

Rice's defenders have cited his community involvement on issues such as bullying as a reason why the incident was down played by the NFL and by the Ravens. I wonder if they found the latest video footage as difficult to watch as I did.