According to the AP's Rob Maaddi, a law enforcement official played the Associated Press a 12-second voicemail that confirms video of Ray Rice punching his fiancee was not only sent to the NFL, but was received and viewed.
From Maaddi:
A law enforcement official says he sent a video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee to an NFL executive three months ago, while league officers have insisted they didn't see the violent 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."
This comes just a day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell claimed the exact opposite in a television interview with CBS:
We were not granted that. We were told that was not something we would have access to. On multiple occasions, we asked for it.
If this news is confirmed, it will be nearly impossible for Goodell to keep his job.
Update, 5:23 PM ET: The NFL league office has issued a response:
"We have no knowledge of this. We are not aware of anyone in our office who possessed or saw the video before it was made public on Monday. We will look into it."
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