Troubling video emerged on Wednesday, showing Baltimore Ravens football star Ray Rice apparently dragging his unconscious girlfriend out of an elevator.
Rice, a 27-year-old Rutgers alum, and fiancée Janay Palmer were both arrested in what cops described as a mutual attack at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City on Friday night — Valentine’s Day.
But in a video posted by TMZ, Rice is seen holding up the motionless Palmer from behind — his arms hooked under her arms and shoulders — before plopping her down in front of elevator doors.
“We are confident that by the time all the facts are in the open, the public will have a complete and true picture of what actually transpired,” Rice’s criminal-defense lawyer Michael Diamondstein told The Baltimore Sun.
After dropping Palmer out of the elevator, he goes back inside to retrieve one of her shoes, the surveillance video shows.
Rice then grabs Palmer’s legs to swing her completely out of the way of the elevator doors.
The couple was met by a man who appears to be a security guard, and then he radioed for help. Palmer appears to regain consciousness at the end of the 51-second video. She refused medical treatment at the scene.
Rice could be in trouble with the league, as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has wide discretion to suspend players for poor off-the-field conduct.
The grainy footage has grabbed the attention of Ravens officials.
“We have seen the video. This is a serious matter and we are currently gathering more information,” a team spokesman said.
Rice, a New Rochelle native and six-year NFL veteran, was booked for committing “assault by attempting to cause bodily injury” to Palmer, “specifically by striking her with his hand, rendering her unconscious.”
Palmer is accused of hitting Rice with her hand.