NFL Commissioner Doesn’t ‘Rule Out’ Ray Rice Playing Again

Updated 9:34 a.m. E.T. on Sept. 10

In his first public comments since a video went viral that showed former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his then-fiancée, now-wife out unconscious, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said he wouldn’t count the currently suspended Rice out of the game forever.

Goodell stipulated that Rice “would have to make sure that we are fully confident he is addressing this issue, clearly he has paid a price for the actions he has already taken,” in order to return to professional football. Goodell spoke to CBS News in an interview that aired Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. He also said the league is giving Rice and his wife the “resources” needed to “help them work through” the issue.

“He’s got a lot of work to do [and] the family got a lot of work to do,” Goodell said.

The NFL suspended Rice indefinitely Monday, hours after a second video of the February incident was released by TMZ Sports. Rice had initially been suspended for just two games after a first video was released showing Rice dragging his now-wife’s body out of an elevator in the same incident. The two game penalty was decried by many for being too lenient.

This week, the NFL and the Ravens came under fire again for reacting too slowly to the violent video.

Goodell said the NFL did not see the video of the punch before the rest of the public on Monday. “We had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator,” he said. “We assumed that there was a video, we asked for the video, we asked for anything that was pertinent, but we were never granted that opportunity.”

[CBS Evening News]