Ray Rice video

Monday morning, TMZ filled in the pieces of what truly happened in Atlantic City on February 15. Many in Baltimore defended Ravens running back Ray Rice, citing that the initial video didn’t actually show him punching his then fiancee Janay Palmer — though the police report did in fact say just that.

Here’s the rest of the video, though I’ve got to warn you before you watch, it’s very disturbing footage:

From the NFL’s standpoint, today is horribly embarrassing. Many reported that commissioner Roger Goodell saw this video when making his decision to suspend Rice for two games. If that’s the case, then he’s got some serious explaining to do.

From the Ravens standpoint as a team, their defense of Rice leaves me sick to my stomach. Somehow this tweet still hasn’t been deleted.

And of course there’s Kevin Byrne, Ravens Senior Vice President of Public and Community Relations, who wrote this on July 25 in a blogpost titled I Like Ray Rice:

When we found out about Ray's punishment during yesterday morning's practice, I told Steve that I wanted to write about Ray Rice and how much respect I have for him.

From a fan’s perspective, I couldn’t be more disappointed to be associated with a team that didn’t take this more seriously. Our fan base gave this guy a standing ovation in the preseason and then the team’s website bragged about it.