The altercation between Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his fiancé at Revel Casino in Atlantic City may have been more serious than the two embroiled in the fight may have led on.
Rice’s attorney downplayed the domestic violence incident over the weekend, calling it a “very minor physical altercation”, but a new surveillance video footage from Revel, which was obtained by no less than TMZ Sports, showed Rice coming out of an elevator dragging a visibly knocked out Janay Palmer before dropping her to the ground.
Rice and Palmer were both charged with domestic violence-simple assault and both were eventually released with a summons, but this new video paints an entirely different picture of what looks to be more than just a “minor physical altercation”. I’ve seen my fair share of fights in my day, and at no point does somebody getting knocked out senseless constitute a “minor altercation”.
The new video also puts a bad light on the Ravens running back, who is already feeling the pressure on the field after posting his worst regular season since becoming the Ravens go-to back. To be fair, Rice doesn’t have a history of off-the-field issues and this episode could be just a blip, albeit a pretty big one, on his otherwise spotless off-the-field resume.
But damn, dragging your girl out of the elevator and then dropping her face first to the ground like a rag doll is pretty cold. And the fact that Rice was also shown in a separate surveillance video striking Palmer won’t win him any new fans out there. No matter how heated you are, you don’t hit women. Simple as that, Ray.
You can at least bet that NFL Commissioner will look long and hard at this new surveillance video and he’ll likely drop a stiff fine or even suspend Rice for a part of next season. But if the prosecutor’s office finds reason to charge Rice with assault of some sort, then he’s problems just got way bigger.
As for Revel, well, the casino just can’t catch a break, can it? On the rare occasion that it makes the news that doesn’t involve its incredible struggles to gain traction in Atlantic City, it gets that tied up to something like this.
Just goes to show that Revel’s luck may not be changing anytime soon.
