Despite repeated insistences from the NFL that they had not seen the second Ray Rice video released earlier this week, the Associated Press reports today that a law enforcement official associated with the Rice case had in fact sent a copy of the tape to the NFL in April.
The report runs counter to statements Goodell made yesterday in an interview with CBS about the Ray Rice situation. During the interview, after Goodell had been asked whether any league officials had seen the tape, he said, “No one in the NFL, to my knowledge.” At least he gave himself plausible deniability. Very canny, Roger.
However, Goodell may be right. The law enforcement official was not able to confirm that anyone in the league had actually watched the tape. He could only confirm that they had received it. His proof was a 12-second voicemail he received from a league official saying that they had gotten the video.
This evidence does contradict the league’s claim that they had reached out to law enforcement for the tape and had been unable to get it. In the same interview with CBS, Goodell stated, “We assumed that there was a video. We asked for video. But we were never granted that opportunity.” Now that we know they had the tape, the bigger issue becomes why the NFL didn’t watch it, if we’re to believe what Goodell says.
The AP notes that the version of the video they watched is different from the clips TMZ released. In the version they saw, audio is included, and the clip is slightly longer. Essentially, all the evidence to make a fair and proper decision about Ray Rice’s initial suspension was in the NFL’s hands.
BREAKING: AP Source: Law enforcement official sent copy of Ray Rice tape to NFL executive in April
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 10, 2014
NFL spokesman says “we have no knowledge of this.” Restates no one to their knowledge possessed or saw the vid. “We will look into it.”
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 10, 2014
NFL spokesman clarifies reference to “anyone” in that statement means “anyone in our office,” which is the phrase they’ve been using.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 10, 2014
If it’s illegal for law enforcement to turn over evidence of an ongoing investigation, somebody really went all W. Mark Felt here.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 10, 2014