NFL: Newsome Testifies Ray Rice Told Goodell That He'd Hit Fiancee

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has supported Ray Rice's story all along. Even after commissioner Roger Goodell said Rice's account following a physical altercation with his then-fiancee in an Atlantic City hotel elevator hadn't been consistent, Newsome said that Rice had told the truth to Newsome.

Newsome reportedly didn't change his story Thursday, because, according to ESPN's Don Van Natta, Newsome testified under oath that he heard Rice tell Goodell on June 16 that he had hit Janay Rice in that elevator.


This came on the final day of Rice's appeal of his indefinite suspension to neutral arbitrator Barbara S. Jones. Van Natta also reported that Ray Rice and Janay Rice testified Thursday.


Details of what Rice and his wife testified to Thursday and what Goodell said Wednesday were not released to [ESPN] because of a gag order that Jones imposed. But sources said Newsome backed Rice's previous accounts of what he told Goodell. Goodell spent the majority of his time testifying under cross-examination by outside union attorney Jeffrey Kessler, sources said.

Also presented during the two-day hearing were dueling sets of notes taken by the union and the league during the June 16 meeting. The union's notes, sources said, clearly state that Rice told Goodell he had hit Janay; the league's notes, sources said, state that Rice used ambiguous words to describe the assault.

Rice is appealing because he and his lawyers believe Goodell -- who originally suspended Rice for two games following the incident before the public outcry eventually lead the commissioner to impose the indefinite suspension -- made Rice a victim of double jeopardy.

Newsome's testimony seemingly would help Rice's case, because Goodell claimed Rice originally didn't make him aware that he hit his then-fiancee. After the physical contact became clear, Goodell then could say new evidence had come to light -- which, in his mind, would have allowed him to impose the indefinite punishment.

"The NFLPA thanks Judge Barbara Jones for presiding over a fair and thorough hearing," the players union said in a statement. "This is the first time in the history of our League that a disciplinary hearing has been conducted pursuant to a joint agreement on a neutral arbitrator. We commend NFL owners and officials for the wisdom of this decision which enhances the credibility and integrity of our business. The collectively bargained rights of all players must be vehemently preserved and we take that obligation seriously."