John Harbaugh Comments on Ray Rice After Release from Ravens

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh addressed the media Monday after the team had announced earlier in the day that running back Ray Rice's contract had been terminated.   

TMZ Sports released video on Monday of Rice striking his then-fiancee (now wife) Janay Palmer and knocking her unconscious in an altercation at an Atlantic City casino in February.

Harbaugh shared his thoughts on the video, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Andrew Siciliano:

ProFootballTalk.com's Darin Gantt weighed in on the situation as Harbaugh explained the information at the Ravens' disposal before Monday's video footage surfaced:

Comcast Sportsnet added further details regarding the decision to release Rice and how it would impact the Ravens moving forward:

CNN Breaking News documented how Harbaugh tried to remain supportive of Rice even after the Pro Bowler's disgraced departure from Baltimore:

Harbaugh wouldn't elaborate too much on the incident itself or what he and Rice said, via CheeseheadTV's Jayme Snowden and Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports:

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also suspended Rice indefinitely in light of Monday’s circumstances, via Rapoport:

While Harbaugh had to withstand the trying news conference, Sports Illustrated's Andrew Brandt felt perhaps someone else in the Ravens organization would be better suited to deal with the controversy:

As for Rice's future in the league, Harbaugh offered some brief thoughts on that too, via ESPN's Jamison Hensley:

Rice had already been suspended for the first two games of the 2014 season after his arrest for domestic violence. The league's punishment was heavily criticized, which prompted Goodell to issue a letter to all NFL owners admitting that he "didn't get it right." He also announced a new, harsher penalty for cases involving domestic violence and sexual assault.

All of that preceded the release of this latest footage, which shows Rice's actions inside the elevator.

Rice averaged just 3.1 yards per carry in 2013, so he was already trying to stave off a potential decline on the gridiron entering this season. Now that the grim video of him striking his wife in an elevator has gone viral, he will have a hard time earning respect back enough to be reinstated by the NFL.

Even if Rice is eligible to play in the NFL at some point down the road, he will be hard-pressed to fit in to a new environment. It's a good bet all 32 teams will avoid any affiliation with him for the foreseeable future, and his football career may very well be over.