NFL Owners Need To Suspend Commissioner Roger Goodell After Exposed Alleged Lies About Ray Rice Tape

In the wake of the Monday’s surfacing of the full video of Ray Rice knocking out his fiancee, things are looking bad for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. There are potential holes in his story and NFL owners need to take notice. Of course there a lot of ‘ifs’ here, but all signs point to lies coming from Goodell’s office.

Per a report by USAToday multiple organizations, including one of the largest feminist groups in the country, are calling for Goodell’s resignation. Not to take the heart out of the issue, as domestic violence is very sad, but Sports Business Daily estimates that women represent 45 percent of the country’s NFL fans (and 33 percent of the NFL viewing audience) and the NFL is a revenue driven league. NFL owners cannot afford not do the right thing. It’s time for them to suspend Goodell until this clears up and then fire him if he indeed has been lying for the past three days.

Since Monday, when Goodell indefinitely suspended Ray Rice, he has maintained that he and the NFL did not see the full video of Ray Rice knocking out his fiancee. Although, needing video evidence to indefinitely suspend a player seems crazy in itself — shouldn’t the assault and arrest be enough?

September 4, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell walks the sidelines before the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Anyway, here is sampling of Goodell’s interview with CBS This Morning‘s Norah O’Donnell and she doesn’t hold back,

"O’Donnell: So did anyone in the NFL see this second videotape [the full tape of Rice knocking her out] before Monday?Goodell: No.O’Donnell: No one in the NFL?Goodell: No one in the NFL, to my knowledge, and I had been asked that same question and the answer to that is no. We were not granted that. We were told that was not something we would have access to. On multiple occasions, we asked for it. And on multiple occasions we were told no. I understand that there may be legal restrictions on them sharing that with us. And we’ve heard that from attorneys general and former attorneys general.O’Donnell: You know there are people saying they just don’t buy that –that no one in the NFL has seen this tape.Goodell: Well, that’s a fact. And I think it’s a fact because the criminal justice system and law enforcement were following the laws and doing what they needed to do to make sure that they followed the criminal activity. This is an ongoing criminal investigation. And I think they were doing what they do. We are cooperative, we are supportive, we will ask for any pertinent information that we can have access to. But we can’t force them to provide any information.O’Donnell: How is it that the NFL couldn’t get their hands on the second tape, but a website called TMZ could?Goodell: Well, I don’t know how TMZ or any other website gets their information. We are particularly reliant on law enforcement. That’s the most reliable. It’s the most credible. And we don’t seek to get that information from sources that are not credible."

A brand new report by the Associated Press is saying that the NFL did in fact receive the video in April from law enforecment and that someone viewed it — which contradicts Goodell’s story completely.

How would the tape be sent to the NFL without Goodell seeing it? Think about it, if the tape was sent to the NFL, like law enforcement is claiming, then that means that Goodell was willing to hand out a suspension to Ray Rice without reviewing all possible evidence? I’m not buying that. Goodell wants us to believe that the video was never sent to the NFL. Or that the video was sent to NFL, but never made its way to him, even though he was handing out the punishment; which was a measly two game suspension anyway, even after knowing why Rice was arrested.

According to CBSSports.com the NFL responded to this claim by releasing a statement,

"“We have no knowledge of this,” the NFL’s statement said. “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.”"

One thing is clear, someone is lying. Is it the law enforcement or Goodell?

Goodell didn’t seem interested in justice until the video surfaced and there was a public uproar. Now he’s caught in between saying that he did the right thing when he saw the video on Monday and being accused of not doing the right thing until months later, when pressured by the public. This seems like a sloppy cover-up and one that could cost Goodell his job.

Either way this is an eye-sore for the NFL and one that NFL owners shouldn’t take lightly. The NFL cannot afford to lose the massive female viewership that it depends on, as well as the all of the men that this lack of justice and integrity rubs the wrong way. But that’s exactly what it’s risking if it turns out that Goodell did see this tape in April but isn’t fired this week. Not to mention the owners should take it upon themselves to do the right thing and ensure that lying and domestic abuse are both not tolerated in this league.

Listen NFL owners, it’s time to #SuspendGoodell

Seriously owners it’s time to act, take a peak at a little sampling of what NFL fans are thinking about this situation:

Check back with NFL Spin Zone for more as this story continues to develop.