NFL Commissioner Breaks His Silence On Rice

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The National Football League's Commissioner Roger Goodell broke his silence Tuesday about the newly released elevator video from an Atlantic City casino showing former Baltimore Ravens star running back Ray Rice, punching his then fiance, Janay, in the face, knocking her out cold.

Click here to watch Summer Knowles' report. 

Rice has since been released from the Ravens and indefinitely suspended from the NFL, but many wonder why the initial video released showing rice dragging his unconscious fiance out of the elevator wasn't enough for Goodell to suspend Rice.

"What we saw in the first tape was troubling to us in and of itself, but what we saw yesterday was extremely clear and extremely graphic and it was sickening and that's why we took the action we took," Goodell told CBS News' Norah O'Donnell in an exclusive interview.

Goodell said he and NFL leadership saw the video for the first time Monday after it was released by TMZ. But how is it  the news and entertainment website was able to get their hands on the video, but the NFL couldn't?

"I don't know how TMZ or any other web site gets their information, but we are particularly reliant on law enforcement, that's the most reliable and credible and we don't seek to get information from sources who aren't credible," said Goodell.

Click here for more on O'Donnell's interview.

In a letter to Ravens fans, the team's owner Steve Bisciotti said initially they were under the impression both Ray and Janay, who were meeting regularly with the team chaplain and going to couples counseling would face simple assault charges, but the prosecutor dropped the case against Janay and elevated the charge against Ray from simple assault to aggravated assault.

That's when the team backed off and deferred all action until court proceedings were done and that's where he said they made a big mistake.

Click here to view Steve Bisciotti's letter to Ravens fans.
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