Law enforcement sent Ray Rice tape to league office in April

[kalibane]

According to Report....

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11503 ... tive-april

Law enforcement claims they have confirmation of delivery according to ESPN that I'm watching right now. If this proves to be true, Roger Goodell is going down like a sweet muffin!

[c_hawkbob]

Goodell's toast now.

[THX-1138]

Here's my deal on this:

The NFL initially saw, according to what we first knew, the tape of Rice DRAGGING HIS UNCONSCIOUS WIFE OUT OF THE ELEVATOR BY THE ARM! Not carrying her but dragging her bodily. And they gave him a 2 gamer. Then they saw the actual vid from inside the elevator where he knocked her unconscious. And then they said that changed everything and they came down on him.

Excuse me? THAT changed everything? What did they think he did at first, hypnotize her? Maybe she was sleepy? They didn't know that he knocked her the F out? Are they selling prime real estate in the swamps of Florida, too?! I don't know if Goodell should be fired or not, but he probably needs to be seriously slapped upside the head. Very hard. And then dragged bodily from an elevator by the arm.

[Vegaseahawk]

Goodell is going to have to own up to this sooner or later. I wouldn't be surprised if he loses his job over it. On a side note, how long do you think it'll be before Ray Rice is employed by an NFL team again? I think it will be a year. Maybe 2 at the most. I think an apt punishment for Rice would be to dress him up in high heels & a wig & then put him in an elevator with Cam Chancellor

[kalibane]

Oh if this is true he's losing his job. He's the one always talking about protecting the shield. Right now the shield has never been so tarnished. If the owners keep him they'll be tarnished as well. Some owners may not care, but I can't see owners like Paul Allen, the Rooneys or the Mara's tolerating this.

[Hawktawk]

Oh if this is true he's losing his job. He's the one always talking about protecting the shield. Right now the shield has never been so tarnished. If the owners keep him they'll be tarnished as well. Some owners may not care, but I can't see owners like Paul Allen, the Rooneys or the Mara's tolerating this.

Jim Gray said 2 hours ago there was "no way" the owners would vote to remove him. But that was 2 hours ago. I cant see how they can keep him if this is true.

I thought all this "I got it wrong" stuff last week or so was weird. Ole Goody probably got wind that TMZ was going to blow the lid off the cover up participated in by law enforcement, the Ravens, and the NFL.I hope he is removed as commissioner for quite a few reasons....

[HumanCockroach]

Wow, the NFL received "better quality video" from inside the elevator according to the police, they are fuked, like really, really fuked. What I can't possibly believe is they thought lying about it was going to work in todays day and age, how, can an organisation this far along, worth this much money, that doles out punishment and fines, think that somehow, someway this wasn't going to become public at some point? wtf?

[HumanCockroach]

Some how, some way, the league will figure out a way to make this whole mess helpful to offenses......

What idiots, guessing it will be a "the CBA tied our hands" situation, or someone kind of important, but not too important will be "to blame" for not relaying the seriousness of the situation, some mid to middle upper management is going to get the axe, Goody will profess his remorse and somehow it will be spun into him not being held accountable.

[Distant Relative]

I don't have a link but I heard on the radio ( 1080 the fan) today that there has been 57 cases of domestic violence in the NFL since Rodger has been comissioner. There is no Fn way the NFL never saw that video.....none. Hope that lousy sob does loose his job.

[RiverDog]

I want to hear a response from Goodell and the NFL before I jump to a conclusion. Who received the tape? What happened to it after law enforcement delivered it to their offices? Did some low level worker screw up and not tell their superiors that they had the tape? I can't believe that Goodell or any other league official would lie about when they first received or saw the tape. They have to know that sort of stuff has a paper trail.

It's interesting that Goodell skipped a scheduled appearance scheduled for tonight. Something is going on. Is Goodell preparing to resign? Or is he simply avoiding public appearances until their internal investigation is complete?

This could end up being a HUGE scandal. Isn't October Breast Cancer Awareness month?

[kalibane]

The thing is though at this point even if some low level employee dropped the ball will that even be believable conisdering what a clusterf*** this has all been. It's been so mismanaged at every step. I don't think it matters what circumstances are involved. Ozzie Newsome said that Ray Rice didn't tell them a different version of events than what we saw on the tape so if that thing is confirmed to have made it to the NFL offices, I don't think Goodell is going to be able to scapegoat a lower level employee and hide behind plausible deniability. It'll still be too much of a PR nightmare.

[RiverDog]

The thing is though at this point even if some low level employee dropped the ball will that even be believable conisdering what a clusterf*** this has all been. It's been so mismanaged at every step. I don't think it matters what circumstances are involved. Ozzie Newsome said that Ray Rice didn't tell them a different version of events than what we saw on the tape so if that thing is confirmed to have made it to the NFL offices, I don't think Goodell is going to be able to scapegoat a lower level employee and hide behind plausible deniability. It'll still be too much of a PR nightmare.

I agree. This is a hugely screwed up mess. Goodell is at the top of the pyramid, and will be the one that will ultimately have to fall on his sword.

But there's still more questions than answers, and I want to give Goodell and the league an opportunity to check things out and tell their side of the story before I reach my own conclusion.

[HumanCockroach]

"Ignorance is not an excuse" - Goodell re BountBounty gate scandal on why he suspended Payton for a year.....

Maybe he should have added "unless you're the commissioner" as far as I'm concerned, either he didn't follow through ( which makes him responsible) or he is lying about having a copy of the recording ( which makes him responsible) since the police dept. Released a recorded confirmation from the offices of the NFL saying they had received it, AND viewed it, I'm siding with they saw the recording. The Ravens have expressed that Rice was honest with them about what occured, and the recording was not a shock, as it was what was relayed from Rice to them.......

Anyway Rodger wants to try to spin this "ignorance is not an excuse" and the axe should fall. I understand it won't, just the way big business works. So regular person will be axed, maybe even someone almost important, but Good ell will get some enormous fine ( well for real people, a drop in the bucket for someone making 44 million a year) and he will indeed profess "ignorance" and be on about the business of ruining defenses, helping offenses shortly there after.

[RiverDog]

The NFL announced that they will launch an independent investigation into the league's handling of the Rice incident, and have named a former FBI director to conduct it.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... e-incident

This could take months, and in the meantime, there's going to be a whole lot of PR headaches, such as this one, where the 49'ers (of all teams) are suspending an announcer for comments made about the victim:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-foo ... e-comments

Breast cancer awareness month that starts in October is only going to keep this domestic violence issue front and center as it highlights an obvious hypocrisy. The greed that led them to court female fans in order to expand their market and shower their coffers with even more riches is going to come back and bite them in the ass.

[HumanCockroach]

Strong stance by the Niners, suspend the radio guy for questioning how Janae could marry Rice after the beating, and play McDonald after beating his pregnant GF..... I guess if you're "needed" the rules are different.

[Seahawks4Ever]

More hypocrisy by the 40 Whiners who like to point the fingers and call in to question the character of opposing players, coaches, and organizations.

As for Roger Goodell, he is a lawyer who should know that the cover up is almost always worse than the crime. If Goody Goody didn't watch that video that was sent to them from law enforcement it was because he didn't want to. One has to ask, why didn't he want to watch it??? Why was he so eager to let Rice off the hook? Did he owe a favor to the Ravens???

Ozzie Newsome is another guy who is being asked hard questions. He says that Rice didn't lie to him and the rest of the organization, if so, then why didn't they cut him loose before??? From what I understand Rice said he "slapped" her when he obviously punched her with a closed fist. The NFL is claiming that Rice lied to them and that is a big part as to why they changed their tune.

This is going to be big problems for both the ravens organization and Roger Goodell and any other team that wants to go lightly on players who commit domestic violence.

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but one of the first things I was taught in life was that BOYS DO NOT HIT GIRLS. It didn't seem fair when we went through that growth period when girls were as big if not bigger and as strong if not stronger at the same age, and the girls KNEW you wouldn't hit them back. But, we endured it and it didn't last long. All I know is that peer pressure was sure that no guy would lay a hand on a girl or he would get his fanny kicked, even his best buddies wouldn't help him.

When did that change in society? I mean, I know that AFTER we were grown up there were guys who hit their "women" but I don't ever remember anyone doing it the schools I went to and I went to both Seattle and Renton schools and I graduated in 1979. Now I hear about all kinds of instances of guys hitting girls in grade, junior/middle, and high schools. When did it become OK??? When were the rules lessened and who eased them???

Heck, Goodell even said Rice might be reinstated if he "did" the "right" thing.

[kalibane]

Everything I'm about to type is conjecture so take it with a large grain of salt but this is just what makes sense to me.

I don't think Goodell was "eager" to let Rice of the hook. I've heard a lot of people taking the tack that Roger has nothing to gain by protecting Rice so Goodell is most likely telling the truth due to lack of motive to put himself at risk. I don't buy that either. I don't think he gives a damn about Ray Rice one way or the other.

What I think is the Goodell was just flat out tone deaf about how people would react to this. Even the first video was grotesque despite not showing the actual assault, but it just didn't register to him. He honestly thought a 2 game suspension was adequate. Maybe that influenced him to not dig deeper and he just did a shoddy job with his investigation of the incident.

The problem came in when he issued the suspension and people were unexpectedly (to him) outraged. He admits making a mistake and then institutes a new reactionary policy to handle domestic abuse to try and hopes that it solves everything.

But then the 2nd tape hits TMZ and given the brutality of the tape, now the NFL looks incompetent because most people will assume they had this 2nd tape and Goodell is in a position where he either has to admit that he just didn't take the investigation seriously (something that would be grossly embarrassing, especially for the "law and order" commissioner) or he has to build a case that the NFL did in fact do their due diligence but did not have evidence that this was as disgusting as the tape showed. And this is where the half truths and obvfiscating starts. And any of us that have kids or remember childhood knows that this is where you start getting yourself into trouble.

I believe he didn't see the tape. But he has to explain why he didn't see the tape. So he says they requested it from law enforcement but it wasn't provided. The key detail here is because of a jurisdictional quirk the agency he says he requested it from didn't have jurisdiction over what happened in the elevator, only what happened on the casino floor, so they had no reason to have the tape. What makes this even more specious is Rice's attorney had the tape. So if he could get the tape why didn't the NFL with all it's resources have the tape? Probably because they put out requests but didn't follow up because they just didn't care. And so when this woman received the tape she didn't run it up the ladder because as far as Goodell was concerned the matter was resolved. Or she ran it up the ladder and the people between her and Goodell didn't think it warrented Goodell's attention for the same reason. And for the fact that it provided him with plausible deniabilty.

Nothing about the investigation adds up. NFL security is a highly respected organization in terms of fact finding about players backgrounds and such. But they act like they didn't know where they could get this tape even though a line of people with experience in law enforcement say it's a very simple process.

This is a complete mess. I don't even know how they are going to justify suspending Rice indefinitely since the policy he just instituted states that the first offense is a 6 week suspension. His only fall back is that Rice lied to him but Ozzie Newsome is already on record as saying that Rice told the truth about what happened on that elevator. Rice deserves to have the suspension he has, but the way it came about was wrong. This is how murderers get off on technicalities.

If ever there was evidence that the Commissioner needs to be divorced from disciplinary matters it's this. They need a separate executive to run discipline like the NBA and an independant authority to appeal to. Goodell has proven that he can't handle the job.

[HumanCockroach]

http://deadspin.com/bill-polian-disagre ... socialflow

LOL, watch the monkeys dance..... you have to watch these two clip someone put in a call during the technical snafu.

[Distant Relative]

http://deadspin.com/bill-polian-disagrees-with-bill-polians-insider-opinion-1633593081?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

LOL, watch the monkeys dance..... you have to watch these two clip someone put in a call during the technical snafu.

I have a feeling he received a phone call by someone high up in the NFL at some point before the second interview aired. Probably the NFL security and or a lawyer. He sure did change his tune didn't he. I hope this is the tree trunk trunk that breaks Rodgers back.

[Seahawks4Ever]

Kalibane; Are you Roger Goodell's attorney? Because only Goody's lawyer could come up with such nonsense. Some times, heck 99.9 % of the time the simplest answer is the correct answer and that is that Roger Goodell lied about not seeing the tape. I don't think Goodell went lightly with Rice because he liked him so much, he did it as a favor for the Ravens organization, the only reason is why? Find out the answer to that question and you will find the key to the whole cover up scandal.

[RiverDog]

I agree with Kal, and feel his explanation is very plausible. I see absolutely no logical reason why Goodell would lie about any of this. That's not to say that I don't think he made mistakes, but I don't see some sort of sinister cover-up ala Penn State like others do. I just don't see the motivation for him to do so.

Good points about the Niners hypocrisy, although in their defense, the Rice incident is a little like 9/11. There's a how we did things before it vs. how we do things after it. The Rice incident is a marker in time.

[HumanCockroach]

"Ignorance is not an excuse"

I do find it wrong that now Goodell is attempting to disperse blame to Janae, that is kind of pushing the bounderies IMHO of what is appropriate.

[RiverDog]

"Ignorance is not an excuse"

I do find it wrong that now Goodell is attempting to disperse blame to Janae, that is kind of pushing the bounderies IMHO of what is appropriate.

Like the saying goes, it takes two to Tango. IMO Janae does share at least some degree of blame for the confrontation. The reports I heard say that she spit at him, which is bound to piss off even the mildest mannered individual, although Rice's reaction was obviously way out of proportion.

I'm also in partial agreement with the SF announcer that got suspended. His problem was that he characterized Janae's marrying Rice was "pathetic". Had he not crossed that line, I'd be outraged that the Niners took the action that they did.

[kalibane]

Kalibane; Are you Roger Goodell's attorney? Because only Goody's lawyer could come up with such nonsense. Some times, heck 99.9 % of the time the simplest answer is the correct answer and that is that Roger Goodell lied about not seeing the tape. I don't think Goodell went lightly with Rice because he liked him so much, he did it as a favor for the Ravens organization, the only reason is why? Find out the answer to that question and you will find the key to the whole cover up scandal.

Does the scenario I painted seem helpful to Goodell? Because I certainly don't think it is. He is a lawyer and I think he has told a lot of half truths that give him wiggle room to backtrack and probably made some statements that he thought he was safe in making that will turn out to be lies. But as far as him lying about actually seeing the tape. I just can't get there. There is no benefit for him to do so.

I still think he has to go. I don't see any way he can be credible in overseeing the league or negotiating the next CBA. Players will NEVER trust him after this. Like HC said... his comments about Sean Payton in the bounty scandal will haunt him. "Ignorance is not an Excuese". He can't expect to effectively run this league if the standard he holds himself to is not the same or higher than the people he's arbitrarily handing out punishments to. He's made the NFL a lot of money and he's been there for like 30 years so I get why the owners want to keep him. But he's gotta go. And if he doesn't they are going to regret it down the line.

Not because of some public outrage or because he's not taken domestic violence seriously (although he hasn't) but because he is undermining the position of the NFL commissioner. He's been inconsistant, unfair and disorganized. He's out there shooting from the hip right now. Would you want your CEO of a multibillion dollar company just freelancing? This is scandal should be a flashing red light to the owners. It'll only be a matter of time before he gets caught up in something even worse down the line. He's just not well suited to deal with the day to day duties of being the Commissioner, no matter how good he is at the Macro stuff.

[RiverDog]

I still think he (Goodell) has to go. I don't see any way he can be credible in overseeing the league or negotiating the next CBA. Players will NEVER trust him after this. Like HC said... his comments about Sean Payton in the bounty scandal will haunt him. "Ignorance is not an Excuese". He can't expect to effectively run this league if the standard he holds himself to is not the same or higher than the people he's arbitrarily handing out punishments to. He's made the NFL a lot of money and he's been there for like 30 years so I get why the owners want to keep him. But he's gotta go. And if he doesn't they are going to regret it down the line.

Not because of some public outrage or because he's not taken domestic violence seriously (although he hasn't) but because he is undermining the position of the NFL commissioner. He's been inconsistant, unfair and disorganized. He's out there shooting from the hip right now. Would you want your CEO of a multibillion dollar company just freelancing? This is scandal should be a flashing red light to the owners. It'll only be a matter of time before he gets caught up in something even worse down the line. He's just not well suited to deal with the day to day duties of being the Commissioner, no matter how good he is at the Macro stuff.

I don't think the next CBA negotiations will have anything to do with whether Goodell stays or goes. The current CBA doesn't expire until 2021, and there's not going to be very many of the current players around by the time that rolls around.

But I do agree that Goodell is probably going to be forced to walk the plank on this one. Like you said, he did take the DV issue very lightly, although he's not the only one. But he is the man at the top and has to accept the responsibility for this mess. It could take awhile, though, as they just decided to start an independent investigation that could take months, and we are in the middle of a football season, and as Commissioner he does have specific job responsibilities that isn't going to be easy to transfer smoothly.

If he goes, I wouldn't be surprised to see the league hire a female commissioner as his replacement. They'll certainly be canvasing the country searching for one that is qualified.

[HumanCockroach]

Sorry RD just don't feel the "I didn't feel comfortable asking her question" washes his responsibilities in this matter.

[Hawktawk]

But I do agree that Goodell is probably going to be forced to walk the plank on this one. Like you said, he did take the DV issue very lightly, although he's not the only one. But he is the man at the top and has to accept the responsibility for this mess. It could take awhile, though, as they just decided to start an independent investigation that could take months, and we are in the middle of a football season, and as Commissioner he does have specific job responsibilities that isn't going to be easy to transfer smoothly.

If he goes, I wouldn't be surprised to see the league hire a female commissioner as his replacement. They'll certainly be canvasing the country searching for one that is qualified.[/quote]

Its never the crime that gets them, its the cover up. Goodell is lying through his teeth about every aspect of this scandal. Polls show the public does not believe him. Ozzie Newsome has said that Ray told the truth to both he and the Commissioner in June. Rays wife was present at the hearing and was also interviewed. Now it looks as though the league already had the tape when they made the decision so in effect RR is facing double jeopardy.

Now we have an *independent * investigation with a respected man Robert Mueller in the front. Except the front men are actually John Mara and Art Rooney II. They are from the bloodlines of the NFL founding fathers who got both Tagliabue and Goodell their jobs. So there is total control by Goodells strongest allies, hence a toothless investigation. Goodell is going to cover his ass to try to keep his position as Judge of the Kangaroo Court and rule maker by executive order as long as possible. Along with the 20 million dollar annual salary of course. What a farce!

Oh and RD I have a woman name for you. Condoleeza Rice.
Shes a huge fan of the league, very knowledgeable, highly qualified and above reproach. She also expressed an interest in having the job several years ago.She would likely rocket to the top of the polls if she ran for POTUS but shes way too smart to want that job.....

[RiverDog]

Sorry RD just don't feel the "I didn't feel comfortable asking her question" washes his responsibilities in this matter.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that I was letting Goodell off the hook. He should be held accountable for this mess IMO.

[Futureite]

I want to hear a response from Goodell and the NFL before I jump to a conclusion. Who received the tape? What happened to it after law enforcement delivered it to their offices? Did some low level worker screw up and not tell their superiors that they had the tape? I can't believe that Goodell or any other league official would lie about when they first received or saw the tape. They have to know that sort of stuff has a paper trail.

It's interesting that Goodell skipped a scheduled appearance scheduled for tonight. Something is going on. Is Goodell preparing to resign? Or is he simply avoiding public appearances until their internal investigation is complete?

This could end up being a HUGE scandal. Isn't October Breast Cancer Awareness month?

As the leader/CEO of a multi-billon dollar business, no excuse can fly. You do your due dillugence and get your hands on that tape. Period. He must be the only person on earth that did not know there are cameras in a casino elevator. If he truly did not know, then every decision he has made before or since us called into question. His incompetence should provide more than enough cause for termination.