New Report: Rice Spat On Palmer, NFL Had Punch Tape

By Black Men In America.com Staff

Every day more information about the Ray Rice domestic violence incident is being reported and shared.  If true, these new reports spell BAD NEWS for both Rice and the NFL.  Today the Associated Press reported that the NFL was delivered a copy of the punch video back in April 2014.   In addition, additional details from the night of Ray Rice’s assault on his then-fiancee Janay Palmer have been made available in a new report from ESPN. These details include Rice spitting on Palmer two times before hitting her and that Rice knew he was going to be arrested.

According to ESPN Investigative Reporter John Barr, Ray Rice spat in the face of Janay Palmer the night he punched her in a hotel elevator.  According to media reports interviews with one current and one former security staffer at the Revel who spoke with ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” this week on the condition of anonymity, described additional details of the incident.  These staffers said there is a higher quality video that they reviewed.  In the “Outside The Lines” report, two of the men were on duty the night of the assault, while a third had full access to the security video, which he said he has watched dozens of times.

Here’s a partial account of the incident as reported by ESPN:

One former staffer said Rice spat in his then-fiancée’s face twice, “once outside the elevator and once inside,” prompting her to retaliate with movements that were ultimately countered with a knockout punch.

“The first thing he [Rice] said is, ‘She’s intoxicated. She drank too much. I’m just trying to get her to the room,’” one staffer said.

“When she regained consciousness she said, ‘How could you do this to me? I’m the mother of your kid,’” that same staffer told “Outside the Lines.”

With his fiancée still groggy, Rice dialed somebody on his cellphone and said, “I’m getting arrested tonight,” the staffer said. Police arrived in 10 to 15 minutes.

All of the staffers who spoke with “Outside the Lines” say they were not contacted by anyone from NFL security or the Ravens and they are not aware of any current or former co-workers who have been.

This situation is a mess and is getting worse every day.