According to a report by The Associated Press on Thursday, a law enforcement official says he sent video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee Janay Palmer to the attention of NFL security chief Jeffrey Miller in April.
"I unequivocally deny that I received at any time a copy of the video and I had not watched it until it was made public on September 8," Miller said in a statement released through the league.
The Associated Press reported on Sept. 10 that the video was sent to a "league executive" but no name was previously reported. The anonymous law enforcement official said Thursday he doesn't know if Miller ever saw the DVD or opened the package. Miller has worked with the NFL since 2008.
Rice was released by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Sept. 8 after a video emerged on TMZ of Rice punching Palmer in an Atlantic City casino elevator. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly said the NFL did not see the video until it was publicly released.
The league announced that former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III is conducting an independent investigation into the NFL's handling of the Ray Rice incident. Goodell announced sweeping changes to the personal conduct policy concerning domestic violence cases in August. He said last week that more changes are on the way to the personal conduct policy. He will ask the NFLPA and others to collaborate on the process.
