Ray Rice and Wife Testify Separately in Appeal to End NFL Ban
Their testimony puts the credibility of the league, Roger Goodell on the line.
— -- Former Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice's closed-door appeal to get back in the NFL wrapped up today, with both the Pro Bowl running back and his wife, Janay Rice, testifying separately -- and taking on the league's commissioner, Roger Goodell.
Goodell testified for more than two hours Wednesday, reportedly facing mostly contentious cross-examination at a New York City legal office from Rice's lawyers. Goodell’s statements have not been revealed because the hearing is under a gag order.
"The credibility of Roger Goodell, the credibility of the NFL is at stake here," said ESPN analyst and former NFL executive Andrew Brandt. "Roger Goodell must show that what happened in that video and what he saw in that video was vastly and completely different than what he was told by Ray Rice."
Ray Rice, 27, is appealing his indefinite suspension from the league, arguing that he was forthcoming with NFL executives after he was arrested for a February domestic violence incident inside an Atlantic City, New Jersey, hotel elevator during which he assaulted his then-fiancee Janay Palmer.
After meeting with Goodell in June, Rice was initially suspended for two games.
When new video from the attack surfaced online months later, however, Rice was released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the league, with the NFL considering the second video clip to be new evidence.
Rice has said that the indefinite suspension constitutes double jeopardy and that he can't be suspended twice for the same offense.
He has also maintained that he told Goodell everything about the elevator incident but the commissioner denied Rice’s claims about the February attack in a September interview with CBS.
“When we met with Ray Rice and his representatives, it was ambiguous about what actually happened,” Goodell said at the time. “We certainly didn't know what was on that tape.”
After the indefinite suspension was announced, the NFL Players Association weighed in on behalf of Rice.
“We think the league knew everything what happened inside, outside the elevator before they ever spoke to Ray Rice,” an NFLPA source told ESPN’s Josina Anderson in September. “We think we can prove it. We’ll see.”
The final decision rests in the hands of former federal judge Barbara Jones, who is serving as an independent arbitrator in the case. It was not clear when Jones would rule.
The Associated Press and ESPN contributed to this report.
Related Stories
ABC News Live