Baltimore Ravens

Ray Rice should be BANNED FOR LIFE from the NFL ... not just because he beat the crap out of his then-fiancee ... but because he LIED about it as well ... this according to Senator Marco Rubio.

Rubio [R-Florida] FL] tells TMZ Sports he's outraged by the footage of Rice belting Janay Palmer in the face and says -- "He should be suspended for life. There's no place for someone like that in the National Football League."

Rubio says the fact Rice lied about it -- by contending that it was mutual combat -- makes the situation even worse.

Ray Rice has been cut by the Baltimore Ravens and indefinitely suspended by the NFL ... and it's all over the video.

The team just announced it has terminated Rice's contract this afternoon ... hours after TMZ Sports posted the footage of the Pro Bowl running back attacking Janay Palmer in an elevator back in February.

Rice was in the middle of a 5-year $50 million contract he signed with the Ravens back in 2012.

The NFL had previously suspended Rice 2 games for the incident -- but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell later admitted he screwed up in punishing Rice too lightly ... and instituted harsher punishments -- a 6 game suspension for first time NFL domestic violence offenders.

But ironically Goodell violated his own new policy with an indefinite suspension ... which makes the NFL sound like an organization out of control and ducking for cover.

Fantasy football owners have more balls than NFL owners -- because they're cutting the Ravens RB from their teams faster than Ray tried to deflect blame on his wife for the elevator fight.

After TMZ Sports posted the new elevator footage -- showing Rice attacking then-fiancee Janay Palmer -- his fantasy stock plummeted and according to the Yahoo Add/Drop rankings, he became the #2 most dropped running back Monday morning and the #5 dropped overall player.

"Fantasy Factory" star Big Black says people need to stop bashing Ray Rice for violently punching his fiance Janay Palmer in the face ... claiming if she forgave him, everyone else should too.

Christopher Boykin -- aka Big Black -- launched his defense of Rice in response to ESPN's Michelle Beadle ... who's been blasting Rice and the NFL ever since we published the video this morning.

Boykin tweeted to Beadle, "She married him move on" ... adding, "Had she hired Mayweather's ex attorney & stood her ground this would be news but she didn't she supported & married him."

Beadle fired back saying, "Sadly, yes she did. And her reasons are probably sound in her mind. Probably used to it. Doesn't matter to me though. Criminal."

ESPN's Bill Simmons is using the Biff Tannen method in an effort to get the Ravens to fire Ray Rice -- labeling them as "COWARDS" if they don't have the testicular fortitude to cut ties, asap.

Simmons -- regarded as the most influential sports writer in the country -- just tweeted, "Ravens have to waive Rice today or they are cowards. New video is appalling. I'd like to see someone in the NFL do the right thing for once."

He also called out commissioner Roger Goodell, saying, "Goodell's ability to keep screwing up signature decisions is unparalleled. I don't trust him to organize a fast-food order at this point."

What would Marty McFly do?

Seth Rogen -- I don't know much about football, but I know that Ray Rice is a piece of garbage who shouldn't be allowed to play it professionally anymore. @nflcommish your punishment for beating a woman is less than for smoking weed. Get your head out of your f**king ass.

Deion Sanders -- Instead of @RayRice27 and his Wife being the topic of your conversation today for the video let's PRAY for them and their marriage.

Michelle Beadle -- She must have used some pretty inflammatory words to deserve those punches. Two freaking games. Criminal act. Go sit in the corner.Did @nfl and @nflcommish really think this video wouldn't eventually surface? That we wouldn't see that disgrace? Never too late, Goodell

Jay Glazer -- I am never speechless. That ray rice video... beyond words. Ban him now! ...
If you play a violent sport & are violent toward a woman ur right to play that sport should be taken away. Plus his callous disregard for her well being after she was KO'd is equally as disturbing. Absolutely disgraceful

Keith Olbermann -- Roger Goodell's position as Commissioner of the NFL is no longer tenable. Whether he saw the #RayRice video or he did not, he failed.

Doug Gottlieb -- Remember when #Ravens fans gave #RayRice a standing O.... Twice? Good times

Coy Wire -- NFL Players Association should demand that Ray Rice be banned from the NFL. I'd be damned if I had to be associated w/ him.

Jason Jones -- @NFL If you truly didn't know about this video, you not only need to fire Ray Rice, you need to hire the investigative team @TMZ

Linda Cohn -- Looks like this #RayRice video was more important to discover for TMZSports than it was to the @NFL. Very sad.

Chris Kluwe -- Looks like the Ravens' strategy of "MOVE ALONG FOLKS, RAY RICE'S WIFE IS SORRY SHE GOT BEATEN" might not have been the best choice.

Sage Steele -- One of the most disgusting aspects of new #RayRice video? Failure of prosecutors in Atlantic County, NJ. Saw video & didn't prosecute? Sick.

Jamie Lee Curtis -- Roger Goodell shame on you and the NFL. Two games? Really? Two games? Assault is assault. Take an action. Find your mind.

Lisa Guerrero -- Outrageous. The @NFL interviewed Janay Palmer with Ray Rice in the room? Really?
By the way, the beginning of the new video appears to show #RayRice SPITTING on his fiancé before hitting her twice and knocking her out.

Ben Leber -- Not to take attention away from Ray Rice, but Goodell and his suits saw the elevator video in July. They need to be held accountable as well

Randy Cross -- So now we're supposed to believe that Rice & his counsel had access to the tape but the NFL & their NSA/Security didn't?

Skip Bayless -- Our legal system and our NFL commisisoner look so bad and shameful now that we've seen what actually happened inside that elevator.
My opinion: Ray Rice should be gone for the rest of the season.

Scott Fujita -- I'm glad no one this morning seems to care about yesterday's games. This piece of sh** needs to be out of the league. Period.

Brady Quinn -- Am I the only one who believes it should be a lifetime ban for the first time a player commits domestic violence? They should be done period.

Chris Harris -- The NFL should have zero tolerance for domestic violence. There is never a reason for any man to be violent towards any woman.

Duke Ihenacho -- Just so many things wrong with this situation. Spit, punch, trying to wake her up like she passed out on her own..na ain't coo

Terrance Knighton -- That man should be thrown out the the nfl and thrown into jail. Shame on those deciding his punishment. Smh

Sydney Leroux -- Yes, Ray Rice needs to be banned from the NFL but can we please get his wife some help for marrying him after the fact?

Marlon Wayans -- Watchin this @RayRice27 stuff and I say hitting a woman is not something a man should do. But I think that PEOPLE need 2 communicate better.

Tom Arnold -- I miss what Joan Rivers would've said about Ray Rice today.

Alex Holmes -- Scary revelation. Without @TMZ Donald Sterling still owns the Clippers and Ray Rice would still have a job. #letthatsinkin

Sen. Richard Blumenthal -- It shouldn’t take a video to do the right thing. I commend @Ravens but urge @nflcommish to act on harsher penalties for domestic abuse. -RB

Jenn Sterger -- At least the Ravens organization has stepped up where @nflcommish fumbled. Thank you Baltimore.

Taylor Twellman -- Sorry but I'm not applauding @Ravens for today's cutting of Ray Rice because fact is he'd be playing if not for @TMZ releasing the video.

B. Scott -- The video of Ray Rice punching his fiancée, knocking her out and then casually dragging her out the elevator is truly disturbing.

David Boreanaz -- How does the @nfl not KNOW about the video in the elevator of Ray Rice? #DontBuyIt

Christopher KID Reid -- How did people think Ray Rice's wife ended up knocked out???....a major fart from Ray?....too many Fireball shots by her?.... #YallKnew

Jeff Dunham -- No joke here: As a father of three girls, I say Ray Rice should be banned from every sport and should be serving hard time in prison.

David Clowney -- Ray Rice is a really good dude!! I don't believe he is a woman beater, I think he just made one awful mistake..

Holly Robinson Peete -- Right move. He could have killed her. Thank goodness for video. Shame NFL, law enforcement and Ravens had to be outted by TMZ... smh

Swin Cash -- It's very difficult to read some of these post blaming the victim in the ray rice situation. Disgusting!!! U have no idea how DV changes u

Ja Rule -- Damn Ray Rice NOT COOL he should get the LIFE ban

Mike Greenberg -- NFL teams do exhaustive research on the personal lives of players they draft in the fifth round. "We never saw it" is hard to fathom.

Terry Crews -- The Ray Rice incident occurred many times n my childhood, & I believe nothing'll change unless MEN change the culture that allows this abuse

Charlamagne Tha God -- And stop saying TMZ ruined Ray Rice's life. TMZ just doing their job. If he didn't hit her wouldn't be a video tape for TMZ to post.

Dick Vitale -- Rice CUT - The only right thing to do - #NOOTHERCHOICE

Maria Shriver -- Women's voices being heard.Take note. No place for domestic violence in the #NFL

Leigh Steinberg -- Did the NFL see the second tape that TMZ released prior to making Rice 2 game suspension? Doesn't really matter,they knew he punched her out

The NFL tells TMZ Sports ... league officials did NOT see the new Ray Rice elevator footage posted on TMZ Sports before it meted out a 2 game suspension.

A league spokesperson tells us ... "We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator. That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today."

We do not know if the NFL will seek to re-open it's investigation of the incident.

Seth Rogen is GOING OFF over the Ray Rice elevator video -- saying the running back is a "piece of garbage" who should be banned from the NFL for life.

Rogen is responding to the footage we posted on TMZ Sports -- showing the NFL running back KNOCKING OUT his then-fiancee with a brutal left hand to her face.

Rogen went to Twitter and blasted Rice -- and the NFL.

"I don't know much about football, but I know that Ray Rice is a piece of garbage who shouldn't be allowed to play it professionally anymore."

This is what a two game suspension looks like -- Ray Rice delivering a vicious punch to his fiancee's face, knocking her out cold ... and TMZ Sports has the shocking video.

We've already shown you the aftermath outside the elevator ... Rice dragging the unconscious woman on the floor. But we've now obtained video of the punch that put her down, raising the question ... What was the NFL thinking when it wrist-slapped Rice with such feeble punishment?

The incident took place Feb. 15th at the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City -- after Ray and then-fiancee (now wife) Janay Palmer got into a heated argument on their way into the elevator.

Inside the elevator it's apparent he strikes first ... she hits back ... and then Rice delivers the knockout blow.

The punch knocks Janay off her feet -- and she smashes her head on the elevator hand rail ... knocking her out cold. Ray doesn't seem fazed ... and when the door opens, he drags her out into the hotel.

An employee of the hotel -- which just shut down for good -- tells TMZ Sports he was working there at the time and says the NFL saw the elevator footage before imposing the 2-game suspension.

UPDATE -- The NFL says it did NOT see the newly-released elevator footage before it imposed a 2 game suspension on Rice.

This video is a cleaned up version of the raw surveillance elevator video -- the raw is jerky ... so we smoothed it out.

Click to Watch Raw Elevator Video

UPDATE 11:35 AM PT -- The Ravens have terminated Ray Rice's contract.

Ray Rice won't ever have to revisit the scene of his infamous domestic violence incident ... that's because the Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ is closing down.

The casino will close by September 10, making it the fourth casino in AC to shut down this year. Revel only opened in April 2012, at a cost of $2.4 billion.

Ultimately, the casino's legacy might end up being the place where Rice was caught on surveillance cameras dragging his seemingly unconscious fiancée out of an elevator ... before they were both arrested for domestic violence.

Rice struck a deal and served no jail time for the incident. He was suspended by the NFL for two games.

Ray Rice says the incident inside of that casino elevator in New Jersey in February was "the biggest mistake of my life" ... and says he takes "full responsibility" for his actions.

The Baltimore Ravens running back addressed the media to discuss the 2 game suspension handed out by the NFL as a result of the arrest -- and while he never specifically said he KO'd his wife that night, he acknowledges that he did do SOMETHING wrong.

"I don't condone any of my behavior. I take full responsibility for my actions. My wife can do no wrong."

Ray said what happened that night was "a huge mistake on my behalf."

"I know that a lot of people out there have lost respect ... maybe not like me anymore. That's my fault. I have to own that."

Rice also says never planned on appealing any punishment the NFL decided to give -- no matter how harsh. He also says the incident in Atlantic City was a "one-time incident."

"I've never had a problem with domestic abuse."

ESPN is yanking Stephen A. Smith off the air -- suspending him for the inflammatory comments he made about women and domestic violence last week.

The network says Smith will not appear on his show "First Take" or on ESPN Radio until next Wednesday. During a discussion about Ray Rice's suspension, Stephen A. said he would tell women to make sure they're not doing anything "to provoke wrong actions" ... in addition to telling men what NOT to do.

This morning on "First Take" Smith apologized -- and ESPN released a statement, saying ... “We will continue to have constructive dialogue on this important topic. Stephen’s comments last Friday do not reflect our company’s point of view."

The network continued ... "As his apology demonstrates, he recognizes his mistakes and has a deeper appreciation of our company values.”

Smith's comments also infuriated fellow ESPN anchor Michelle Beadle. She's yet to react to his suspension.

ESPN has a civil (and gender) war on its hands ... as "SportsNation" host Michelle Beadle has lashed out on Twitter at "First Take" host Stephen A. Smith for his comments about domestic abuse.

It began Friday morning when Smith, in the context of the NFL's suspension of Ray Rice, brought up the idea that there are things women can do to prevent themselves from becoming domestic violence victims.

Beadle, who revealed she was once in an abusive relationship, said she "would never feel clean again" after taking in Smith's comments. She wrote, "I'm thinking about wearing a miniskirt this weekend...I'd hate to think what I'd be asking for by doing so @stephenasmith. #dontprovoke"

She added, "Violence isn't the victim's issue. It's the abuser's. To insinuate otherwise is irresponsible and disgusting. Walk. Away."

For his part, Smith did apologize to Beadle and said he "could've been more articulate on the matter."

But he seemed to make the situation worse when he went on to say, "... What about addressing women on how they can help prevent the obvious wrong being done upon them? ... I was simply saying that preventive measures always need to be addressed because there's only but so much that can be done after the fact....once the damage is already done."

Oh, the damage is done alright.

The NFL has suspended Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for TWO GAMES stemming from his arrest at a NJ casino ... where he allegedly KO'd his then-fiancee Janay Palmer.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Ray was seen dragging Palmer's unconscious body out of an elevator in the Revel Casino in Atlantic City back in February. Both Rice and Palmer were arrested for assault.

Eventually, Rice struck a deal with prosecutors in which he will avoid jail ... if he completes a domestic violence program. So far, things seem to be going smoothly.

But the NFL has decided to take action of it's own -- concluding that Rice violated the league's personal conduct policy. He'll miss two games -- and two game checks -- totaling $470,588. Plus, the league fined Rice $58k.

In yet another attempt to prove everything is cool between them, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his wife Janay posed for a couply, non-violent photo together on Instagram.

Janay -- who previously apologized for her role in allegedly getting K.O.'d in an Atlantic City casino -- included the message, "We gon show the world the definition of real #therices #usagainsttheworld."

Of course, Ray & Janay were arrested back in February after an alleged physical altercation at the Revel casino ... and cameras captured Ray dragging Janay's unconscious body out of an elevator.

Just last month, the two addressed the media and said they felt counseling after the incident has helped them grow closer as a couple.

Ray Rice and his wife Janay Palmer just addressed the media TOGETHER -- both expressing regret for the violent incident at a NJ casino back in February.

Ray spoke first ... apologizing to the Ravens ... and adding, "I also want to apologize to my fans, to the kids, to anyone who's affected by this situation that me and my wife were in."