Privately, top reporters were told in no uncertain terms that the video existed, that the NFL had seen it, that it showed Janay Palmer acting violently toward Rice, and that, if released, it would go some way toward mitigating the anger against him. One of the league's most devoted mouthpieces described the video for us on an off-the-record basis, going off what his sources had told him. The implication was clear:
If you saw this video, you'd know why Rice only got two games.
Now that the video's out, the NFL and the Ravens are reversing course.
There are three possible explanations here. The first is that every single reporter who said the NFL had seen the video was lying. This seems unlikely, since they were all telling the same lie, both for public consumption and in their off-the-record talks with us.
The second is that the NFL was lying to all of the top football reporters back then about having seen the video, in some attempt to smear Janay Palmer.
The third is that the NFL is lying now about not having seen the video—that league officials saw what everyone has now seen, for whatever reason actually found it exculpatory, and are now making false claims to protect the league's image. This interpretation is supported by an employee of the Revel, the Atlantic City casino where the fight took place. He
tells TMZ that the NFL saw the footage before disciplining Rice.
Whatever the case, it's almost certain that the NFL lied at some stage here...
