Video appears to show Ray Rice attacking then-fiancee

The fallout from Ray Rice’s suspension continues. TMZ Sports released a video Monday morning that shows the Ravens running back hitting Janay Palmer, then his fiancée and now his wife, while they were inside a casino elevator in February.

After they appear to hit each other in the elevator, Rice is shown throwing a punch with his left hand, and Palmer is knocked off her feet and into a railing, before falling to the elevator floor, apparently unconscious. Months ago, TMZ released a previous video which showed Rice dragging Palmer out of the elevator.

Rice is serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s conduct policy, and missed Sunday’s season-opener against the Bengals. After the two-game suspension was announced in July, the league faced severe criticism from many who believed Rice’s punishment was too lenient.

Weeks later, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted that he “didn’t get it right” regarding Rice’s punishment. On Aug. 28, Goodell sent a letter to all 32 team, detailing stronger sanctions for league personnel punished for domestic violence – at least six games for a first offense, and potential league banishment for a second offense.

Rice was charged with felony aggravated assault, but he was accepted into a pretrial diversion program that allowed him to avoid jail time. However, the release of the video Monday brings the incident into the forefront of the news again, as the Ravens try to recover from Sunday’s loss and prepare for Thursday’s home game against the Steelers.

- CSN Baltimore