NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has officially responded to a recent Instagram post by Ray Rice’s wife Janay Rice.
On Tuesday Janay Rice privately attacked the NFL over its decision to indefinitely suspend her husband. In the post Janay said she felt as if she was living a nightmare.
Following that Instagram post Goodell appeared on CBS News. The NFL Commissioner told the news station, “It’s never easy to take difficult positions. But people expect that from us. The victim is never at fault here. That’s not the issue. The issue here is Ray was a player in the NFL and he cannot engage in that kind of behavior.”
Goodell also explained that before suspending Ray Rice for two-games, he met with Rice and Janay to discuss their relationship.
“I spoke to them before that,” Goodell said. “I met with them probably a month before the decision. He indicated what he and Janay were doing as a couple to try to address their issues. It’s a very difficult issue for families.”
Goodell went on to admit that the ” issue of domestic violence” is “very complicated” and “very difficult on families, there are victims, there are family members that are impacted by this.”
In his interview he says there are “resources” in place to help players and their families when issues of domestic violence occur. Goodell adds, “We’ve been in touch with the family to make sure they have resources, in the last 24 hours.”
Here is the original Instagram post that Roger Goodell was responding to:
The Ray Rice suspension and his release by the Baltimore Ravens, have been some of the most talked about internet trends for the last 24 hours. The release of a second video by TMZ which clearly showed Ray Rice punching his wife in the head and knocking her out, has been seen by some critics as nothing more than an excuse for the NFL to increase Rice’s suspension, especially after they provide him with such a lenient two-game suspension.