Pressure mounts on NFL chief Roger Goodell over Ray Rice video
American lawmakers and women's rights group criticise commissioner amid claims league had seen explosive footage
Pressure mounted on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as the league investigated when a video of suspended star Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancee was first seen by NFL officials.
As US lawmakers requested details on Goodell’s actions and the leader of America’s largest women’s advocacy group called for Goodell to resign, the boss of the world’s richest sports league maintained no one had seen the brutal video of Rice punching Janay Palmer in a casino elevator last February before celebrity website TMZ revealed it Monday.
“We did not see video of what took place inside the elevator until it was publicly released,” Goodell said in a memo to executives. “None of the law-enforcement entities we approached was permitted to provide any video or other investigatory material to us.”
Citing an unnamed law-enforcement source, an Associated Press report said the video was sent in April to the league and its arrival was confirmed by a voicemail from a woman calling from a phone number at the league office.
“We have no knowledge of this,” the NFL said in a statement. “We are not aware of anyone who possessed or saw the video before it was made public on Monday. We will look into it.”