The Baltimore Ravens released Ray Rice on Monday after a disturbing video of the running back punching his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, in the face during a February dispute was made public.
The NFL claimed it had no knowledge of the video before TMZSports.com released it Monday. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh echoed the league’s sentiments when he spoke to the media after the team cut Rice.
“It’s something we saw for the first time today,” Harbaugh said, via CBSSports.com. “It changed things, of course. It made things a little bit different.
“It wasn’t made available to us. It wasn’t there for us,” Harbaugh added. “As far as I know, yeah, it wasn’t something we ever saw or had access to.”
When asked why the Ravens weren’t able to see the video before Monday, Harbaugh responded, “I have no answer for that.”
The Ravens head coach stood by Rice following his initial two-game suspension, calling his running back a “heck of a guy.” Harbaugh struck a similar tone in Monday’s press conference despite the newly released video.
“Everything I said in terms of what I believe I stand by,” Harbaugh said. “I believe that still. I’ll always believe those things. And we’ll always stand in support of (Rice and his wife Janay) as a couple. That’s not going to change.”
Photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
