As the week proceeds and more information comes out on the Ray Rice situation, things are looking worse and worse for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Information continues to trickle in with all signs pointing to Goodell having direct knowledge of what took place in that elevator. According to ESPN’s Outside the Lines, four different sources have come forward and said that Ray Rice told Goodell exactly what happened that night, contrary to Goodell stating that Rice wasn’t straight-forward in his account of the incident.
Ray Rice told NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on June 16 that he punched then-fiancee in a casino elevator, four sources have told “Outside the Lines,” an assertion that contradicts Goodell’s statement this week that “when we met with Ray Rice and his representatives, it was ambiguous about what actually happened.”
Goodell made the statement Tuesday during an interview with CBS News, saying the latest video released by TMZ Sports about the incident was “inconsistent” with what the former Baltimore Ravens running back had told him. But four sources close to Rice say that during the disciplinary meeting in the commissioner’s office on June 16, Rice told Goodell he had hit Janay Rice, then his fiancee, in the face inside a Revel Casino Hotel elevator in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and had knocked her unconscious.
“Ray didn’t lie to the commissioner,” a source with knowledge of the meeting told “Outside the Lines.” “He told the full truth to Goodell — he made it clear he had hit her, and he told Goodell he was sorry and that it wouldn’t happen again.”
“He told the truth,” a second source said. “This is a public lynching of Ray.”
A third source with knowledge of Rice’s discussion with the commissioner said: “There was no ambiguity about what happened [in the elevator].” A fourth source also confirmed how the information was relayed at the meeting; however, a fifth source with knowledge of the meeting said Rice told Goodell he had “slapped” his fiancee.
At this point, Goodell is likely better off just coming out and admitting he made a terrible mistake and mishandled this entire situation. Regardless of if the truth fully comes out or not, doubt will continue to be cast upon Goodell and every decision he makes from here on out.