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Ravens Terminate Ray Rice After Video of Elevator Punch

By on September 8, 2014

The Baltimore Ravens have terminated the contract of Ray Rice, the team announced Monday afternoon (Sept.8), the same day a video of Ray Rice’s brutal attack on his then-fiancée at a casino in Atlantic City, NJ. emerged online.

“The #Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice’s contract this afternoon,” the team announced via Twitter.

Rice, a three-time Pro Bowler who helped lead Baltimore to a Super Bowl title in the 2012 season, was charged with third-degree aggravated assault following a Feb. 15 incident in which he knocked out Janay Palmer (now Janay Rice). His sentence was later reduced to court-supervised counseling because Janay declined to testify against her husband.

The video released by TMZ Sports shows Ray punching his now wife while inside an elevator.

The video begins with both Rice and Palmer entering an elevator. Inside the elevator, Rice punches Palmer in the face. Palmer lunges after Rice, and then Rice hits her back and she falls to the floor.

Previously, TMZ Sports had released hotel surveillance video of Rice dragging an unconscious Palmer out of the elevator.

Initially, Ray had been suspended by the league for two games, a controversial move that led to widespread criticism of the league and its punishment for domestic violence cases.

However, the new video, which the league tells CNN had not been seen by them until Monday, has called for a more severe action.

“We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator,” NFL senior vice president of communications Greg Aiello said. “That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today.”

Rice was in the middle of a 5-year $50 million contract signed with the Ravens in 2012.

Ray Rice has not commented on his termination.

 

(Photo Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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