According to The Associated Press, a law enforcement official says he sent a video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer to an NFL executive in April.
"We have no knowledge of this," the NFL said in a statement Wednesday. "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."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter Wednesday to all 32 club owners and presidents Wednesday addressing the Rice investigation. (The full letter can be read here.)
"First, we did not see video of what took place inside the elevator until it was publicly released on Monday. When the new video evidence became available, we acted promptly and imposed an indefinite suspension on Mr. Rice," Goodell wrote.
Goodell was set to make an appearance Wednesday night at an event in Charlotte honoring Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, but he has since canceled, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.
Rice was suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Monday shortly after his release by the Baltimore Ravens. A video emerged the night before via TMZ of Rice punching Palmer in an Atlantic City casino elevator. Rice was previously suspended two games on July 24 for violating the league's personal conduct policy for the incident.
Since Rice's original suspension, Goodell announced sweeping changes to the personal conduct policy concerning domestic violence cases. Violations regarding assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault that involve physical force "will be subject to a suspension without pay of six games for a first offense." A second offense will result in banishment from the NFL for at least one year.
UPDATE: Former FBI director Robert Mueller III will conduct an investigation into the NFL's pursuit and handling of the Ray Rice incident, the league announced Wednesday night.
