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Baltimore Ravens terminate contract of Ray Rice after domestic violence video emerges

The Ravens released Rice after footage of him striking his then-fiancée became public.

THE BALTIMORE RAVENS have terminated running back Ray Rice’s contract after the emergence of new video footage showing him punching and knocking out his then-fiancée.

Rice and Janay Palmer, who is now his wife, had an altercation in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February and security video initially posted online by TMZ.com showed Rice lifting a motionless Palmer out of the elevator and onto the floor.

Rice later received a two-game suspension for the incident — a ban widely derided as insufficient and which later prompted NFL chiefs to increase penalties for domestic violence. However, in the aftermath of his release, the NFL have banned Rice indefinitely.

The outrage increased on Monday, when TMZ.com posted previously unseen video from inside the elevator, showing Rice throwing a left-handed punch at Palmer.

The video shows Rice and Palmer entering the elevator. Inside, she crosses the lift toward him and he reacts with a short left-handed blow to her face that knocks her out.

At the time of the incident, Rice was arrested and charged with domestic violence assault. In May, he began a one-year intervention program that allowed him to avert prosecution and avoid serving jail time.

In the face of sharp criticism, the NFL has since changed its policy on domestic violence, and first-time offenders are now suspended six games, with a lifetime ban after a second such offence.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement Monday that the league did not have prior access to this video.

“We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator,” Aiello said.

“That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today.”

Furthermore, despite having three years left on his deal, the Ravens apparently don’t owe Rice any money.

-Additional reporting by Will Slattery

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    Mute st.ultan
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    Sep 8th 2014, 7:44 PM

    He’d still be playing after two games if TMZ didn’t release the video, the team’s management was all happy to stand by Rice. It was to avoid a PR nightmare rather than any moral stance. Sad.

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    Mute Melanie Addison
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:23 PM

    Totally agree – the firing is only because the video was leaked.

    I’m amazed and disgusted that she still married him after that attack.

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    Mute Ray rogers
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:32 PM

    Funny how money can make people overlook all manner of disgusting things

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    Mute thetruth
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:08 PM

    Yet the ravens relesed a statement saying she was sorry for her part in it? What?.you mean getting knocked out

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    Mute Rory Dempsey
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    Sep 9th 2014, 12:53 AM

    Totally! How a team can turn around and coerce an apology out of that woman to make their player look good is beyond me. Makes the Ravens look almost as dreadful as Rice. He should never be allowed on the field again. I’d very much doubt that he’s the only NFL player committing domestic violence, but he should be made an example of, even if it was a once off incident.

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    Mute William Willis
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    Sep 9th 2014, 9:58 AM

    He was up to earn $4m+ this year, before sponsorships, and he’s lost all that now. It might however go some way to explaining why she married him.

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    Mute Aidan O'Driscoll
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    Sep 9th 2014, 10:13 AM

    Money money and more money the things that people do for it

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    Mute Derek Durkin
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    Sep 8th 2014, 7:57 PM

    Jeff Gordon, one of the top wide receivers last year, got a 1 year ban this year from the NFL for smoking a joint. Priorities.

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    Mute The Culk
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:14 PM

    Josh Gordon. You must be high to make such a mistake

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    Mute Derek Durkin
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:19 PM

    Haha,yeah, he’s the Nascar dude, always get them 2 mixed up…as you would.

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    Mute Kenneth
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:50 PM

    Gordon is to have his ban overturned (hopefully this week) however.. Very tasty free agent pick up for my fantasy team

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    Mute Mícheál O'Donnchú
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:26 PM

    The same team kept a murderer on the books for 12 years. He found God, but never could find the suit he wore that night. The other Ray of light, Ray Lewis.

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    Mute Derek Mahon
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:28 PM

    Gowan with your conspiracy theories, Lewis wasn’t a murderer you clown.

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    Mute Business Cat
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:09 PM

    Exactly.

    Blood stained suits burst into flames & disappear all the time!

    And of course, only an innocent man pays millions of dollars to the family of someone he didn’t murder*, just to buy their silence.

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    Mute thetruth
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:10 PM

    Derek you need to read up my friend

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    Mute Derek Mahon
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    Sep 9th 2014, 1:41 AM

    Lewis served his time for what he did wrong, obstructing justice. He buried the suit to protect his career, the same way he flipped on his friends. Witnesses heard him talking about how he didn’t want to end his career like this. His mates got into a fight, stabbed the two guys while Lewis was with them. He didn’t kill them, they did. He was too obsessed with his career to get involved in a brawl like that.

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    Mute ptriley
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    Sep 8th 2014, 7:59 PM

    Low down filthy animal

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    Mute Jack Murphy
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:07 PM

    Have zero sympathy

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    Mute st.ultan
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    Sep 8th 2014, 7:46 PM

    https://twitter.com/Ravens/status/469918292061061120

    I mean, WTF is this about? Why the need to send this? WTF is wrong with your Baltimore?!!!!!

    (Janey is the victim in the video)

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    Mute String
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:32 PM

    She deeply regrets it because she married for the NFL fame and money but now she wont have any. Time to divorce so she can at least get some money out of it before he goes broke.

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    Mute thetruth
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:08 PM

    Couldn’t believe they said that. Whats her part in it? Getting knocked out?

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    Mute chalk8down
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:42 PM

    Ahem. Did the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens really need this video evidence to confirm what happened in that lift. Anyone could see that Rice had clobbered her on the original TMZ video. Hopefully the good that will come out of it is the apparent NFL zero tolerance policy on domestic violence which is now in place. The saddest part is that the victim in question couldn’t see past the dollar signs in her executive decision to marry a thug.

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    Mute Dara O'Brien
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:01 PM

    Sports and big money – excuses a lot it would seem. In any 9-5 job, you’d probably get fired for a conviction like that, you’d probably also find it Damn hard to get a new job too.

    Play professional sports though and they’ll give you a small ban, still pay you and happily get you back on the pitch ASAP. Go figure …

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    Mute David Thomas
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:04 PM

    It would remind you of politics

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    Mute Vincent Van Gogh
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    Sep 8th 2014, 11:23 PM

    In this instance Ray Rice is likely never to play again; no team wants the negative image he now carries with him. Unfortunately many sports are happy to ignore such stigma and offer millions to the individual instead.

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    Mute King Richard
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    Sep 8th 2014, 10:11 PM

    I wonder what would have happened to Ray Lewis had his incident been caught on video… Oh wait.

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    Mute Steven Hillert
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    Sep 8th 2014, 10:27 PM

    What about the video of her smacking him. Just because he is famous doesn’t mean he wasn’t hit. Women are a lot more vengeful than men are fact

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    Mute Darryl Weathers
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    Sep 8th 2014, 7:58 PM

    The journal suddenly a hub for American sports news.

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    Mute Business Cat
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:10 PM

    Suddenly?

    TheScore covers all manner of US stories all the time.

    Its one of the very few Irish sites to do so.

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    Mute Colm Connolly
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    Sep 8th 2014, 11:12 PM

    funny that a sports app covering sport stories , who cares where it’s from obviously the score has a lot of feedback on their American football article’s therefore they will keep those interested updated

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    Mute harvey kinkel
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:32 PM

    He was wrong and deserves to be let go but lets not forget tmz are just as bad the daily mail of america.

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    Mute thetruth
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    Sep 8th 2014, 9:10 PM

    So because tmz are bad it allows him to knock his missus out

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    Mute harvey kinkel
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    Sep 8th 2014, 10:08 PM

    No im just saying tmz are as bad for publicating peoples personal problems yet we overlook that its noones business but the people involved. He is a horrible person and lowlife for what he done but it happens everyday and noone gives a crap just because hes a famous footballer its now worldwide news.

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    Mute Sandra O'RourkeGlynn
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    Sep 9th 2014, 7:42 AM

    When he knocked her out as in when he assaulted her it was no longer a private matter. He committed a criminal offence and the city it happened could have decided to press charges without the wife’s say. They have proof, and she was knocked out. This is not TMZ publishing his private marital problems, this is TMZ showing a criminal offence so he deserves it. The only sad thing is that people aren’t so moral when it comes to the everyday persons crimes. Your right to a point that its only getting this much attention because he is famous.

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    Mute Brian Gormley
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    Sep 8th 2014, 10:50 PM

    It was one hell of a punch though

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    Mute John Clancy
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    Sep 8th 2014, 8:30 PM

    Who cares,never heard of him up to 5 mins ago,just a thug playing a thugs ‘sport’!

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    Mute Brian Gormley
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    Sep 8th 2014, 10:51 PM

    It was one hell of a punch

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    Mute Mike McAllen
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    Sep 9th 2014, 1:01 AM

    Baltimore what? Ray who?

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    Mute tractor1000
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    Sep 9th 2014, 8:03 PM

    She was commin at him he was defending himself! Didnt see any problem with the footage!

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