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UPDATE: 5:05 PM EST

Despite NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell maintaining that the NFL did not see the video of Ray Rice physically assaulting his wife, a law enforcement official says he sent the video to an NFL executive three months ago.

If you recall, league officials claimed they didn’t see the images until this week.

The person played The Associated Press a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9 confirming the video arrived. A female voice expresses thanks and says: “You’re right. It’s terrible.”

The law enforcement official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, says he had no further communication with any NFL employee and can’t confirm anyone watched the video. The person said they were unauthorized to release the video but shared it unsolicited, because they wanted the NFL to have it before deciding on Rice’s punishment.

The person said he sent a DVD copy of the security camera video to an NFL office and included his contact information. He asked the AP not to release the name of the NFL executive, for fear that the information would identify the law enforcement official as the source.

The NFL has released a statement regarding that claim:

We’ll keep you updated with the latest.

SOURCE: AP 

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell may be facing some criticism for how he handled the investigation into ex-Baltimore Raven Ray Rice’s domestic troubles, but he doesn’t think it will cause him his job.

In an interview with CBS This Morning, the first since video of Rice punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in the face was released, Goodell said he’s used to the pushback and isn’t worried that his job is on the line.

“No, I’m used to criticism,” Goodell told O’Donnel when asked if he felt his job was on the line. “I’m used to that. Every day I have to earn my stripes. Every day I have to do a better job. And that’s my responsibility to the game, to the NFL, and to what I see as society.”

But football fans outraged at Rice’s behavior aren’t convinced. If you recall, Goodell handed down a two-game suspension after Rice was arrested for physically assaulting Palmer (now Janay Rice). In the days after a second video of the incident was released, many have called for Goodell’s resignation.

Goodell also maintained that the NFL didn’t see that second video.

“We had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator,” Goodell CBS. “We assumed that there was a video. We asked for video. We asked for anything that’s pertinent. But we were never granted that opportunity.”

On Tuesday, Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said the team let everyone down when the halted the investigation into Rice’s case.

Bisciotti said the Ravens “halted our fact-finding” in March and stopped seeking the video of Rice punching Janay…

 

“[The video] is violent and horrifying,” Bisciotti said in a letter posted to the team website. “I immediately came to the office and called a meeting with Dick Cass, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh and Kevin Byrne. The meeting was relatively short. The decision to let Ray Rice go was unanimous. Seeing that video changed everything. We should have seen it earlier. We should have pursued our own investigation more vigorously. We didn’t and we were wrong.”

We’ll keep you updated with the latest.

SOURCE: HuffPost, USA Today, Baltimore Ravens | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty