In an interview with Norah O’Donnell of CBS, commissioner Roger Goodell gave his first interview since the new footage of the Ray Rice incident leaked to the public. Goodell, who has taken a great deal of criticism in the last couple of days over his handling of the situation, maintains that he never saw the second tape before it was released by TMZ.
“We had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed that there was a video, we asked for video, we asked for anything that was pertinent, but we were never granted that opportunity,” Goodell said.
Goodell went on to take accountability for how the situation has been handled and said that as commissioner, he is the one who is responsible for that. Meanwhile, when asked if Rice will be barred from the NFL for good, Goodell didn’t rule out an eventual return for the Rutgers product.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has issued a letter to the team’s PSL holders and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has republished it. In the letter, the owner admits his own shortcomings.
“Seeing that video changed everything,” Bisciotti said. “We should have seen it earlier. We should have pursued our own investigation more vigorously. We didn’t and we were wrong.”