On Monday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens announced that the team has released running back Ray Rice. Minutes afterward, a NFL spokesman announced that Rice has also been suspended indefinitely based on the new video evidence.
Ray Rice cut by Ravens and suspended by NFL after video of him punching his wife leaked
The #Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice's contract this afternoon.
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2014 Roger Goodell has announced that based on new video evidence that became available today he has indefinitely suspended Ray Rice.
— Greg Aiello (@gregaiello) September 8, 2014 The moves come hours after TMZ released an extremely graphic video showing Rice attacking his then-fiancee (now wife) Janay Rice in an Atlantic City elevator last February.
A separate video — showing Ray Rice dragging Janay Rice, unconcious, out of the elevator — surfaced shortly after the attack, and led the NFL to suspend Rice for a mere two games. In July, it was reported that the NFL also saw the newly-released video when deciding upon that punishment, but the league is now claiming it did not see the video until today.
It’s also been reported that Ray Rice’s version of the events did not match what transpired in the new video, and that the discrepancy was a factor in the Ravens’ decision to release him.
Mounting criticism of the Rice episode led the league to announce harsher penalties for domestic violence in August.
Combined, the suspension and release mean that Rice will not play or be paid for the foreseeable future. The Ravens had previously owed Rice a total of $10 million over the next three seasons. Although Rice was charged with felony aggravated assault after the attack, he entered a pretrial intervention program that will allow him to avoid jail time
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Update: This story has been edited to reflect ongoing developments.
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