The Baltimore Ravens did a lackluster job while investigating the Ray Rice situation, and the team admitted as much Tuesday night.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti wrote an almost 900-word letter to Ravens fans in which he apologized for how the team handled the incident involving Rice and his now-wife Janay Palmer at an Atlantic City, N.J., casino in February. The Ravens did nothing to discipline Rice until Monday, when a surveillance video showed Rice striking Palmer in the face.
Bisciotti admitted that not only did the Ravens not do enough to discipline Rice, but they didn’t do enough to investigate the situation and obtain the graphic video released on Monday.
“First, let us say that we did not do all we should have done and no amount of explanation can remedy that,” he wrote. “What we can do now is share with you everything that occurred and vow to learn from all that has happened.”
Bisciotti also laid out the timeline of what happened after that altercation in February. The owner claims the Ravens attempted to obtain the video from the casino and the authorities, but had no luck. After Rice’s charges were elevated to aggravated assault and a simple assault case against Palmer was dropped, the Ravens decided to let the court proceedings play out before making a decision, Bisciotti writes.
“We stopped seeking to view or obtain a copy of the video,” Biscotti admitted. “We halted our fact-finding. That was a mistake on our part.”
Bisciotti insists that he and the Ravens didn’t see the video until it was released by TMZ. That was when the team decided to act swiftly and release Rice.
“Seeing that video changed everything,” he wrote. “We should have seen it earlier. We should have pursued our own investigation more vigorously. We didn’t and we were wrong.”
Bisciotti finished the letter by apologizing once more to Ravens fans, season ticket holders and partners.
“I am sorry we let you down.”
