Baltimore Ravens

Too soon? Apparently not ... according to Gilbert Gottfried who finally decided to put Ray Rice in the comedy crosshairs.

"Obviously Ray Rice misunderstood me when I said 'She's hot, you should definitely hit that!'" ... Gilbert tweeted.

Cracking jokes on timely news stories is kinda Gilbert's thing -- and he also knows there can be consequences ... like when he was fired from his job as the voice of the AFLAC duck back in 2011 after joking about the tsunami in Japan.

Senator John McCain says Roger Goodell has serious "credibility issues" ... and should get Condoleezza Rice on the phone ASAP to help clean up his mess.

McCain was out in D.C. Tuesday when he was asked how he felt about the Ray Rice video and how the NFL was handling the situation -- and that's when McCain fired the shot at Goodell.

As for talk that Condoleezza could replace Goodell as NFL Commish, McCain doesn't exactly sign off on that -- but says Rice "would be a good person for [Goodell] to call in and have a discussion with."

He adds, "I think she could help him."

FYI -- Condoleezza is a huge football fan and has expressed interest in the NFL job before. She's currently on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.

As for McCain, he took one last parting shot ... at his beloved Arizona Diamondbacks.

Floyd Mayweather says Ray Rice is far from the WORST of the domestic abusers in America -- only problem is that Ray got caught on video.

Mayweather -- who spent time in jail for beating up his baby mama a few years ago -- spoke to Fight Hub TV and said he's pulling for Rice ... "I wish something positive out of the situation."

And that's when Floyd tried to explain why Ray's attack wasn't that bad compared to other wife-beaters -- "[There are] a lot worse things that go on in other people's households also ... it's just not caught on video."

There's more ... when asked about his own domestic abuse case -- Mayweather used the O.J. Simpson defense to try to explain why he was wrongly convicted a few years ago.

"I'm pretty sure that with my situation, no bumps, no bruises, no nothing ... with OJ and Nicole, you seen pictures. With Chris Brown and Rihanna, you seen pictures. With Ochocinco and Evelyn, you seen pictures."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he does NOT expect to be fired for the way he handled the Ray Rice situation ... claiming he's "used to criticism."

Goodell spoke with Norah O'Donnell on CBS News Tuesday night -- and he assured her his job as the head of the league is safe.

Sure it is.

And get this ... even after he saw the video from OUTSIDE the elevator, Goodell told O'Donnell it was "ambiguous what actually happened."

O'Donnell shot back -- "But what was ambiguous about her laying unconscious on the floor being dragged out by her feet?"

"There was nothing ambiguous about that," Goodell admitted ... "That was the result that we saw. We did not know what led up to that. We did not know the details of that."

Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti says the team DID try to obtain the Ray Rice elevator video from the Revel Hotel & Casino ... but were initially shot down ... and simply gave up.

Bisciotti just penned a letter to fans ... saying, "You deserve an explanation" -- and spells out how the team handled the Rice situation from the start.

In his letter, Bisciotti says ... "We contacted the casino management and asked if there was video of the incident from inside the elevator that we could see. The casino would not share such video."

He claims the Ravens then contacted police and prosecutors -- but were shut down then, too.

But Bisciotti says the team's hunt for the video officially ended in March -- when Ray was charged with aggravated assault.

"At this point, we decided to defer action until completion of the court proceedings. We stopped seeking to view or obtain a copy of the video. We halted our fact-finding."

Bisciotti admits ... "That was a mistake on our part."

The police had seen video from inside the elevator. The prosecutor and the judge, who had also seen such video, allowed Ray into the program that would eventually clear him of the assault charge.

The Ravens owner says the team did not see the footage from inside the elevator until Sept. 8th -- when TMZ Sports posted it -- and team honchos made a quick decision to fire Rice.

"Seeing that video changed everything. We should have seen it earlier. We should have pursued our own investigation more vigorously. We didn’t and we were wrong."

Roger Goodell is now doing somersaults to explain why he didn't simply go to the casino and ask for a copy of the Ray Rice elevator video.

Goodell told CBS News, he knew a tape existed and went to law enforcement and asked for a copy but the request was rejected.

So why didn't he then simply go to directly to the source -- the Revel Casino?

Goodell said, "I don't know how TMZ or any other website gets their info. We are particularly reliant on law enforcement, that's the most reliable, the most credible. We don't seek to get that information from sources who are not credible."

THIS MAKES NO SENSE. The police got the tape from the casino, so the police video CANNOT be more credible than the source.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... casino employees told us if the NFL would have requested the video they would have gladly provided it, but no one asked.

An NFL source told TMZ, Tuesday afternoon ... Goodell felt it would be wrong to "go around" law enforcement by contacting the casino and looking at the tape. But we're told all law enforcement told Goodell is they're not giving him the tape -- not that him looking at the tape would interfere with their investigation. Fact is ... it wouldn't.

Ray Rice's wife just WENT OFF on Instagram -- cussing out an Internet troll who ripped her for defending her husband.

Janay Rice hurled the expletives at a user named "Gossipallday" -- who had commented on a post Janay wrote this morning in which she defended Ray and blamed the media for ruining their lives.

"Gossipallday" wrote ... "Girl shut the hell up!!! Weak ass little girl!!! How dare you, excuse your HUSBAND'S behavior for a check??!"

Janay fired back ... writing, "And who asked you! Bitch bye get a f**king life and stop worrying about mine. Typical lame broad."

Earlier today, Ray had said Janay was strong and the family was "in good spirits" -- but it's clear, she's still very much on edge.

Ray Rice is now talking about how he's handling the fall-out in the wake of the brutal elevator video ... saying, "I have to be strong for my wife."

One day after Ray was cut from the Ravens and suspended by the NFL, Rice opened up to ESPN ... telling the network, "[Janay] is so strong. We are in good spirits."

Ray continued, "We have a lot of people praying for us and we’ll continue to support each other. I have to be there for [Janay] and my family right now and work through this.”

The NFL NEVER contacted the casino to request video of Ray Rice brutalizing his fiancee ... TMZ Sports has learned. Commissioner Roger Goodell made his disciplinary decision in the dark, which raises the question ... Is that the way he wanted it?

Sources connected with the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City tell TMZ Sports ... NO ONE from the NFL ever asked for the video inside the elevator ... video that was compelling enough to get Rice instantly fired.

Sources who worked at the casino at the time of the incident tell us ... if the NFL had asked for the video, they would have gladly complied. Former employees have told us someone with an affiliation to the NFL saw the video, but we are now certain that someone was not from Goodell's office or the core NFL executives.

Without video ... Goodell blindly justified the initial 2-game suspension, based on the only evidence they had -- from the two people in the elevator, who called it mutual combat.

Multiple sources tell TMZ Sports ... the casino made a copy of the elevator surveillance video for police. We're also told Rice's lawyer had a copy of the video, which he got in the criminal case.

An NFL source tells us they requested "any and all information" from law enforcement in the criminal case but got nothing because it was a pending case. But the NFL had other options ... namely going to the casino or Rice's lawyer -- but the NFL never bothered to ask.

BTW ... it may sound crazy for Rice's lawyer to voluntarily hand over the video, but the NFL had a lot of leverage ... in the form of severe penalties if Rice didn't ante up the tape.

So the question ... does the NFL have incompetent investigators, or was it just easier to protect a player and turn a blind eye to video that would have forced Goodell's hand? Both scenarios are pretty disgusting.

Several Baltimore Ravens players are saying ... they will not treat Ray Rice like an outcast -- and have vowed to support him as a friend ... team sources tell TMZ Sports.

Our sources tell us ... multiple players have already reached out to Ray to let him know they won't turn their backs on him in the wake of new elevator video showing the running back attacking his then-fiancee.

We're told Ray has apologized to some of his teammates for his actions and has said that he is actively seeking counseling and going to church in an effort to move on with his life.

Janay Palmer is finally breaking her silence about the video showing Ray Rice beating the crap out of her in a hotel elevator -- defending Ray and blaming the media.

In a post from her Instagram page Tuesday morning, and verified by the Baltimore Sun, Janay Palmer writes, "I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself."

She continued, "No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific."

EA Sports has a message for Ray Rice -- you're no longer "in the game" ... 'cause he's been DROPPED from "Madden '15" in the wake of the brutal new elevator video.

The video game company just issued a statement saying, "With Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension from the NFL, he will be removed from Madden NFL 15."

"The roster change will take place by this Friday."

Ray was cut by the Ravens Monday ... and the NFL has suspended him from the league indefinitely.

Real men don't hit women ... so says President Barack Obama -- who issued a scathing statement against domestic abuse in the wake of the Ray Rice elevator video posted on TMZ Sports.

Moments after Rice was cut from the Baltimore Ravens Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest issued a statement saying, "The President is the father of two daughters. And like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society."

"Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that's true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors."

Doc Rivers is no stranger to national controversy (see: Donald Sterling) ... so the question we had to ask -- could NBA Commissioner Adam Silver have handled the Ray Rice situation better than Roger Goodell?

Of course, Silver was hailed as a hero for his swift and thorough handling of the Sterling scandal -- when he sent a team of NBA investigators to L.A. ... who quickly gathered facts and independently verified the authenticity of the Sterling recordings.

On the other hand, Goodell is being accused of bungling the Rice case -- after admitting he screwed up on Ray's initial punishment and claiming he was never able to get his hands on the elevator security footage.

Dean Cain tells TMZ Sports he "hopes" Ray Rice gets another shot in the NFL -- 'cause even though he messed up, Cain says Rice has done some AMAZING things for people behind the scenes.

The former "Lois & Clark" star says he understands the seriousness of Ray's situation -- but says it's tough for him to accept that Rice will be forever known for the elevator fight. Cain says he knows another side of Ray that's caring and sweet.

In fact, Cain tells us ... Rice secretly spent some quality time with his goddaughter after she underwent brain surgery ... without ANY media attention at all. Cain says the whole thing was very special.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh says the decision to fire Ray Rice was a very QUICK one ... made by team officials after they watched the video Monday ... for the very first time.

Harbaugh just addressed the media .. and said he has nothing but "hope and good will" for Ray and his wife Janay.

As for the video, Harbaugh said, "It's something we saw for the first time today ... all of us ... and it changed things. Of course it made things a little bit different."