NFL Reportedly Didn't Request Ray Rice Domestic Violence Video for Investigation

The NFL did not contact the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City to request footage of Ray Rice striking his then-fiancee Janay Palmer, according to TMZ:

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The NFL NEVER contacted the casino to request video of Ray Rice brutalizing his fiancee ... TMZ Sports has learned. Commissioner Roger Goodell made his disciplinary decision in the dark, which raises the question ... Is that the way he wanted it?

Sources connected with the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City tell TMZ Sports ... NO ONE from the NFL ever asked for the video inside the elevator ... video that was compelling enough to get Rice instantly fired.

Sources who worked at the casino at the time of the incident tell us ... if the NFL had asked for the video, they would have gladly complied.

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However, ESPN's SportsCenter reported that it would have been illegal for the NFL to obtain the video:

ESPN's Darren Rovell later provided a statement from the NFL in response to TMZ's report:

However, the New Jersey State Police have refuted the NFL's version of events (via ESPN.com news services):

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In response to inquiries from ABC News, the New Jersey State Police said the statement from the NFL is not accurate.

"Investigations of incidents on the casino floor are handled by the NJSP, but this occurred in the elevator and was handled by the [Atlantic City Police Department]," an NJSP spokesman said. "We never had the video."

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The NFL, however, issued a statement to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports about the allegations:

Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman also weighed in with what he has been hearing regarding the NFL's knowledge of the video:

Former Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma also expressed skepticism about Goodell's efforts to obtain the tape:

Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press provides details of an extended surveillance video obtained by the AP (via the Houston Chronicle):

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Ray Rice and Janay Palmer can be heard shouting obscenities at each other, and she appears to spit in the face of the three-time Pro Bowl running back right before he throws a brutal punch in a video shown to The Associated Press by a law enforcement official. ...

... The higher-quality video shown to the AP shows Rice made no attempt to cover up the incident. After Palmer collapses, he drags her out of the elevator and is met by some hotel staff. One of them can be heard saying, "She's drunk, right?" And then, "No cops." But Rice didn't respond.

The video was shown to the AP on condition of anonymity because the official isn't authorized to release it.

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Janay Palmer (now Janay Rice) reportedly released a statement Tuesday morning on her Instagram account, which was then provided by Chick Hernandez of CSNWashington.com:

Monday, TMZ's Charles Latibeaudiere spoke on the situation on FS1's Fox Sports Live, as transcribed by The Big Lead's Ryan Glasspiegel:

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We have spoken to multiple sources at Revel Casino, which of course is now closed, but we've spoken to people who were working there at the time. And we are assured that someone from the NFL — it wasn't Roger Goodell walking in, we know that — but there were people from the NFL who came and saw the video. So now the question becomes how much of that information got back to Roger Goodell, and did he ever see an actual copy of the video?

We don't know who it was. We just know that employees of the NFL were at the casino to see the video.

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Earlier Monday, TMZ leaked the shocking tape of the incident, which the NFL stated it hadn't seen previously. Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun provided the NFL's statement following the release of the video:

Warning: Video contains graphic footage

The Baltimore Ravens then announced they had terminated Rice's contract, and league spokesperson Greg Aiello confirmed the running back had been suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Following Rice's release, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke with the media to discuss the video, courtesy of NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Andrew Siciliano:

TMZ also reported who had access to the elevator video that captured Rice and Palmer during the incident:

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Multiple sources tell TMZ Sports ... the casino made a copy of the elevator surveillance video for police. We're also told Rice's lawyer had a copy of the video, which he got in the criminal case.

An NFL source tells us they requested "any and all information" from law enforcement in the criminal case but got nothing because it was a pending case. But the NFL had other options ... namely going to the casino or Rice's lawyer -- but the NFL never bothered to ask.

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On Monday, ESPN's Keith Olbermann weighed in on Goodell's status as NFL commissioner:

TMZ's latest revelation will likely continue to raise questions from athletes, media and the public about the disciplinary process undertaken by the NFL and Goodell. In July, Rice was initially administered a two-game ban by Goodell, on the basis of testimonies from Rice and Palmer.

It remains to be seen how TMZ's latest report will alter the course, if at all, for the NFL or Ravens.