Reports Conflict On Whether Roger Goodell Knew Ray Rice Punched Fiancée

The evidence in the Ray Rice case seems pretty straightforward. A video released by TMZ this week clearly shows the former Baltimore Ravens running back punching his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, in an Atlantic City. N.J., elevator.

What is far less clear, however, is who knew of Rice’s actions, and when they knew it.

The latter issue has landed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on the hot seat, as a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the NFL knew of the video’s existence back in April.

Former FBI director Robert S. Mueller has launched an investigation into how the NFL handled evidence in the case, but in the meantime, conflicting reports have emerged regarding the actions Goodell took in the incident’s aftermath.

One NFL owner told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Goodell had mentioned to owners that Janay Rice told him that she felt partly to blame for the abuse from her then-fiance. Goodell also reportedly told them that he thought Janay Rice was knocked unconscious during her fall, not when Ray Rice hit her.

ESPN, meanwhile, claims four sources told “Outside the Lines” that Rice told Goodell that he punched his wife in the face, contradicting Goodell’s earlier claims that the result was “ambiguous.”

While the true extent of Goodell’s cover-up remains to be seen, the more important issue at hand is that the NFL continues to send the message to its players that it will seemingly do everything in its power to minimize the punishment of those who commit acts of domestic violence.

Unless Goodell — or the owners who support Goodell — do something about that, incidents like these will continue to happen. At present, Goodell continues to have solid support among NFL owners, but the Washington Post reports that the group is prepared to push for his dismissal if the investigation yields “egregious misconduct” on the part of the commissioner.