Anonymous Source Says Roger Goodell Lied to Nation Wednesday
Wednesday, Goodell told "CBS This Morning" neither he nor any other NFL official had seen the video of Ray Rice hitting his then-fiance Janay Palmer in the Atlantic City hotel before it was released to the public two days ago. He even said he'd asked for it. An anonymous source identified as a law-enforcement agent involved in Rice's investigation says he sent the video to Goodell five months ago and even received confirmation.
According to ESPN, the source says he leaked the video to the NFL without authorization because he wanted it to influence Rice's punishment. He also admitted there was no proof Goodell saw it. The source has identified himself to the Associated Press, and played them a 12-minute audio clip in which a representative from the NFL confirms receiving, opening and watching the video. That person's identity is unknown.
Confronted by the Associated Press, Goodell and the NFL are sticking to their story -- they didn't see it before it was released by TMZ earlier this week.
The NFL says the only verifiable, trustworthy source of information about the incident was law enforcement. If investigating agencies did not share the video on the record, it is possible the league declined to see anything off the record or from another source. But if the NFL had access to the leaked video and they chose not to view it before punishing Rice, some are saying that too calls Goodell's judgment into question.
Can his career survive this one?