NFL: Video ‘starkly different’ than Rice account

Roger Goodell has officially sent notice of Ray Rice's suspension. (USATSI)

For a second, let's forget about the topic of why the NFL supposedly never saw the Ray Rice elevator surveillance tape before it was released Monday. Instead, let's discuss what Rice might have told the Ravens and the NFL about what happened in Atlantic City that night.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome is on record saying that Rice didn't lie to him about his description of that night's events, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, giving a reason for why he extended Rice's original two-game punishment into an indefinite suspension, said Rice's account was inconsistent.

As such, the NFL has sent a letter of explanation to Rice and the NFLPA, via ESPN.com, that Rice was suspended because "this video shows a starkly different sequence of events from what you and your representatives stated when we met on June 16 and is important new information that warrants reconsideration of the discipline imposed on you in July."

Now, the players union will have three business days to decide whether it wants to appeal the suspension.

On Thursday night, though, ESPN.com's Don Van Natta reported that four different sources told him that Rice told the commissioner the whole truth when they met.

"[Rice] made it clear he had hit her, and he told Goodell he was sorry and that it wouldn't happen again," one source told Van Natta. Another source told him that Rice had slapped, not punched, his then-fiancee.

Whether Rice told the truth to Goodell or whether the NFL viewed the tape beforehand, the league seems to have found an effective way to keep the entire incident murky enough to escape complete fan outrage.

So, if you're keeping track: Ravens owner--Rice portrayed the incident differently than video showed. Ravens president: same.

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) September 12, 2014

Only one of the Ravens brass saying Rice told total truth is Ozzie.

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) September 12, 2014

As a reminder, Friday is the day Rice would have been reinstated under the original suspension.

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