blade runner, but a killer whose future lies very much in the balance. tonight on unguarded with rachel nichols. the question whether roger goodell should still be running the nfl has reached the u.s. senate. >> what will the nfl do to impose stringent punishment. >> boxer floyd mayweather faces tough questions on his domestic violence history. >> ray rice's friend, weighs in. >> in a week when racism again tarnished the nba, doc rivers tells his story. off awe someone broke in our house. welcome to unguarded. a week ago it would have been

unimaginable that america's most popular sport would be under investigation by a former direct or of the fbi and its commissioner would be hearing calls for his job. yet that is where the nfl and roger goodell find themselves tonight. goodell is under fire with questions what he knew and when after running back ray rice knocked his wife unconscious in a casino elevator. we have seen an angry reaction from players look this one from former st. john than vilma. he should be held accountable for his lack of action just like ray rice has been held accountable for his actions. and listen to this from connecticut senator richard bloomenthal.

>> i want to welcome senator bloomenthal in now. thank you for joining us, senator. >> thank you, rachel. >> i want to follow up on the quote we put up. you are talking how several times roger goodell said the nfl never had the videotape inside the casino elevator, but a recent ap report revealed a voicemail from the league office confirming they in fact had the video. how egregious is this? >> i think that this credibility issue is extremely egregious because it reflects on roger goodell's good faith in moving forward with more aggressive action against the domestic violence. the bigger to here. what will the nfl do to impose more stringent punishment, but also to educate its players and

fans about the seriousness and severity of this problem. >> well the national organization for women is reporting during roger goodell's tenure as commissioner there have been 56 instances. the nfl suspended players for only 13 games combined. >> clearly the nfl has failed before. if roger goodell lied to the american people about something as serious as whether he had this graphic, gripping tape, he has to go for the sake of the nfl and the fans. >> i want to get into this idea of the public trust. we have seen several members of congress come out against goodell in recent days. senator, earlier this year, you were one of the 50 senators who wrote a letter asking goodell to intervene. get the redskins name changed. you noted an nfl team should not be nick named something so many people kid a racial slur. it seems like you have issues with goodell's moral authority. why is congress still granting the nfl an antitrust exemption? >> there ought to be scrutiny to

a number of those special breaks that the nfl receives that give it a position of public trust. it is antitrust exemption, as a cartel which otherwise would be broken apart by our department of justice or federal trade commission. its tax benefits. under the law. other kind of special treatment it receives. give it a special public position in our laws. but also a position of trust. >> this is an organization that makes $10 billion a year. taxpayers are currently losing out of hundreds of millions. why should they be getting these special breaks right now, why don't you take some steps to change this and your fellow members of congress? >> that is a course of action that certainly we ought to consider. equally important i call on the nfl to devote some of the billions of dollars in profits to the problem of domestic violence. as one member of the senate my voice will be for greater responsibility immediately.

not waiting for a new law. and the ray rice beating so far really punished only partly is a call to action. >> we will be looking for you to follow. we appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> there is more from the nfl tonight, yet another domestic abuse case. this one involving a child. adrian peterson has been deactivated by the viking after being invited by a texas grand jury for recklessly injuring his 4-year-old son. the charges arise from peterson disciplining the boy with a switch. a houston television station is reporting the child had bruises and cuts on his back, buttocks, ankles, legs and scrotum. this is shaping up to be yet another big test for goodell and the nfl. an organization being tested right now more than any one

would have imagined. stay tuned. we'll be back right after this break with a controversial interview with floyd mayweather. you don't want to miss this. ♪ ♪ ♪ ben! well, that was close! you ain't lying! let quicken loans help you save your money. with a mortgage that's engineered to amaze! ♪ every now and then i get a little bit hungry ♪ ♪ and there's nothing good around ♪ ♪ turn around, barry ♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ [ female announcer ] fiber one. but i've managed. ♪ i got to be pretty good at managing my symptoms,

except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. ♪ when i finally told my doctor, he said my crohn's was not under control. ♪ he said humira is for adults like me who've tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. [ female announcer ] humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. if you're still just managing your symptoms,

ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. oh, hi, cortana. you look...nice. [ cortana ] thanks. this is the new htc one m8 for windows. sleek. but, i'm more than just a pretty face. me, too. i can check your calendar, then traffic to help you make your mani-pedi on time. and you sound great too. well, i have two speakers for music. ♪ oh...i only have one. really? yes. and i'm sitting on it. ♪ yes. and i'm sitting on it. anncvideoconferences it's youof the day.rtant hi! hi, buddy! anncr: that's why the wifi and free hot breakfast are something to smile about. and good reasons to book now. feel the hamptonality so this board gives me rates so this board gives me rates on progressive direct and other car insurance companies? yes. but you're progressive and they're them. -yes. -but they're here.

-yes. -are you... -there? -yes. -no. -are you them? i'm me. but the lowest rate is from them. -yes. -so them's best rate is... here. so where are them? -aren't them here? -i already asked you that. -when? -feels like a while ago. want to take it from the top? rates for us and them. now that's progressive. welcome back to unguarded. boxer floyd mayweather the world's highest paid athlete. forbes estimated he made $105 million last year alone. while mayweather is adored by fight fans there is a darker part of his story. he had a string of domestic violence arrest, citations and in 2010, an incident that landed him in prison. according to the police report, mayweather grabbed the mother of his three children by the hair, punched her in the head several

times. and threatened to kill her. this is all in front of his kids who he also threatened to kill before one of them called the police. after mayweather pled to a reduced charge and spent two months in jail he wasn't ostracized. the nevada boxing commission didn't suspend him the way the nfl suspended rice. instead, mayweather has been allowed to continue to churn out pay days and this despite even more women coming forward with stories of abuse in the time since. given all this you would think mayweather would want to keep a low profile headed into the fight this weekend. a fight that's expected to earn him $30 million. instead what did mayweather do. he commented on rice telling a group of reporters, that the nfl overreacted in indefinitely suspending rice. mayweather added i think there is a lot worse things that go on in other people's households.

it is just not caught on video if that's safe to say. the next day, mayweather backtracked from the comments. when i had a chance to speak to the boxer, i asked him about rice and his own brutal history. take a listen. you recently made comments on ray rice and how the nfl should have stuck to its original two-game punishments. then you backed off those comments. can you clarify what you really think? >> i spoke about that yesterday. i will leave that in the past. and try to focus on the future and fight saturday. >> okay, you are someone with a history of domestic violence yourself. you have even been to jail for it, why should fans root for you with this kind of history? >> everything has been allegations. nothing has been proven. so, you know that's life. >> the incident you went to jail for the mother of your three children did show some bruises, a concussion when she went to the hospital, it was your own kids who called the police, gave them a detailed description of the abuse, there has been documentation.

>> uh-huh. once again, no pictures. just hearsay and allegations. and i signed a plea-bargain. once again, not true. >> but the website, deadspin detailed seven physical assaults on five women that resulted in arrest or citation, are we supposed to believe all the women are lying including the incidents when there were witnesses like your own kids. >> everybody actually, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. when it is all said and done. only god can judge me. >> we have seen, the public wants the domestic abuse problem in this country addressed. would you consider donating any of the $30 million that you will make this weekend to an organization that educates against abuse? >> this weekend, what i will do that millions and millions of dollars be saved for my children because my children are who i love and that's who i care

about. >> yeah, the denial there, with mayweather is truly amazing. right. it gives an interesting window into the way an abuser can walk around maintaining over and over again that nothing is wrong despite hard evidence to the contrary. still got to tell you not as amazing to me as the denial of the public that supports him. i am curious how many of those who shuddered at the video of ray rice in the elevator this week are also planning on plunking down their $70 tomorrow for mayweather's pay-per-view fight. it is worth considering before you pull out your credit card. after this break, yet another scandal over racism rocked the nba this week. stick around, clippers coach, doc rivers offers us his unique perspective. >> i can make two choices. i can live in the past. and be stuck there and with anger. or i could move forward. ♪ ♪

imagine the luxury... of not being here. the power you want with the fuel economy you dream of. performance with a conscience. this is volvo innovating for you. get 4 lines for just a hundred at&tbucks.'t? with unlimited talk, text and now up to ten gigabytes of 4g lte data. so much for at&t's 'best ever' family pricing. t-mobile's got 4 lines for a hundred bucks. up to 10gb of 4g lte data so make the switch to t-mobile. we'll even buy you out of your service contract

so you can get four lines for a hundred bucks today. i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. [ female announcer ] need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 30 of the web's leading job boards with a single click; then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. [ female announcer ] over 100,000 businesses have already used zip recruiter and now you can use zip recruiter for free

at a special site for tv viewers; go to ziprecruiter.com/offer5.

welcome back to unguarded. i'm rachel nichols. the nba saw another owner forced to sell his team due to troubling comments on race. this time, bruce levinson who wrote an e-mail essentially complaining the hawks had too many black fans. lovely. while we thought there was no smarter person to talk about the intersection of basketball and race than clippers' coach doc rivers. his first extended interview since navigating through the very center of the donald sterling scandal.

and his outlook may surprise you. >> all right, let's bring out steve balmer! >> we have come such a long way from april 25th when tmz first posted the audio recordings of donald sterling i you had to describe in a few adjectives what your life has been like over the fast five, six months what word would you use? >> that's a good question. >> you know, i guess uncertainty, confusion, clulter. because the that encompasses all of them. >> what do you remember about the first time you did hear the initial, you called the team meeting for the next day? >> that morning it was difficult. i had to decide what to wear you. can see them normally, throw on your clippers stuff.

and i am trying to decide. >> you did that. when you put them on it didn't feel right on your body. period. i decided of all the days i had to wear, today is the day that i must wear it. >> commissioner, adam silver shortly after that held the big conference. >> i am banning mr. sterling for life from any association with the clippers organization or the nba. >> he bans donald sterling from having anything to do with the team. he talks about trying to force

him to sell. there is great positive reaction to that around the nba. but that leaves you stewarding the franchise. then all of a sudden not just the team you are in charge of as coach, but people in the front office, people who sell tickets. >> they didn't have anyone to talk to. and as upset as our players were, that was the most emotional moment i thought through the whole thing. >> you know they were upset. think about being an operator and answering the phone and some

is of the things they have to hear. >> you played for the clippers for a year in the ear 90s. you played for donald sterling. >> huh. >> in the years in between you came back to coach. he was sued, by baylor for racial discrimination, the and settled for the largest amount ever. you knew those things why did you feel comfortable going to work for him in the first place. >> i didn't at first. i looked at it as a crazy challenge. man if we can turn this thing around this will be really cool. >> did you have any reservation as but working for some one that might bea bigot? >> that that time i didn't did not. i didn't think about it in those terms. there was history. there was no denying that. there was history. that was the gamble i took. that's also why it took so long.

it took months, at least two for me to decide, should i or shouldn't i. >> you wrote a become on basketball toward the end of your playing career, an entire chapter on race. this is not an issue you run away from? >> i don't think any of us should. it's part of our life. growing of in chicago in the early '60s. it is very segregated you. didn't mix, didn't meet other groups. you weren your group. so i think it is important. >> you met your wife chris at marquette in college. smart, beautiful, talented. she also happens to be white. that caused some problems. >> that cause aid lot of problems in college. she had her tires slit. things written on the sidewalk. >> then what happened in san antonio though? >> that was the worst. that was awful. >> we were on vacation, some one broke into our house and burned the house down. one of our dogs, two of our animals were killed in that -- in the fire. and that was awful. >> the police told you they thought that was racially motivated. >> they know it was. the one thing they were sure of. because of some of the stuff -- >> some one burned your house down? >> yeah. you know what do you do? you fight it. you live your life. my dad always said "no victims." you know i can make two choices. i can live in the past with anger, or i could move forward and get my family moving back. i knew my kids, we had to get them normal. they never saw the house. and i had it bulldozed before they could see it. i didn't want them to see that. you don't forget. you know, there's nothing wrong with not forgetting, but you have to move on. >> after everything the franchise has been through, after everything you've been through personally in your life, there are people who would think the overriding emotion would be anger, but instead, what is your overriding emotion as you move

forward? >> victory. no victims, and let's get it right. this is really cool. >> now, that is being the bigger man. doc rivers, impressive as always. >> all right, coming up. we are going to get back into the nfl. and where the league should go next on domestic violence. and we'll talk to two of ray rice's former teammates. including one who saw his own sister lose her life at the hand of an ex-boyfriend. >> i think the domestic violence goes way beyond what we are talking about. this is a nationwide thing. when a pro at any 2014 pga tour event sinks a hole-in-one, quicken loans will pay your mortgage for an entire year. that is how it's done. truly amazing! get in the hole-in-one sweepstakes. enter today at pgatour.com/quickenloans and you could have your mortgage paid

for an entire year. sweenjoy it all...ry! 'cause red lobster's one and only endless shrimp is now! endless choices! endless variety! kick it up with our spicy new wood-grilled sriracha shrimp and it's back: parmesan crusted shrimp scampi! the year's largest variety of shrimp flavors! so many to explore! as much as you like, any way you like! endless shrimp is here! but not for long. so hurry in and sea food differently. then you'll know how uncomfortable it can be. [ crickets chirping ] but did you know that the lack of saliva can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath? [ exhales deeply ] [ male announcer ] well there is biotene. specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth.

used daily, it exfoliates, smoothes, softens. 90% saw smoother, softer skin in one week. gold bond. ultimate lotion. ultimate skin. welcome back. i'm rachel nichols. talking about the nfl attitude about domestic violence.

as shocking as the video was for the american public. it was even more shocking for those who know rice and his wife janay. rice is not floyd mayweather. no history of abuse of any kind. in fact he was known as one of the nfl good guys. i now want to bring in two of rice's teammates. chris johnson won a super bowl with ray rice two years ago, derek mason was one of the players who mentored rice when rice came into the league. derek, the guy you know was not the guy you would be expecting to knock his wife unconscious in an elevator. how do you reconcile that? >> you can't. a guy, myself, spent, four, five years with. and to see this on a video is shocking. >> that's what is amazing, is that people some times find it hard to believe, oh this guy i know could do that. but that is usually how this goes.

i mean, chris your personal story is just heart wrenching for people who don't know. your own sister was a victim of domestic abuse. she was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend. yet you and your wife have been friends of ray and janay rice for years. what has this been like for you? >> well it was kind of a touchy feeling when i first seen the video. but i think in ray's defense, it was a good guy that did something terribly bad. that now that he is paying the consequences for. >> you stood up in the ravens locker room after we saw another incident of domestic violence in kansas city a couple of years ago. why did you think it was so important to tell players your story. >> that was the day my sister was shot and killed. i was trying to make sure everybody in the locker room is a close bother hood. it's like a brotherhood.

at the same time, we get out of practice, meetings, the first thing we do is grab our cell phones or try to see what is going on in our lives. instead of talking to your fellow teammates to find out what's going on at home? what's going on with the fiancee? what's going on with your mom, your wife? that's things that we men, real men need to talk about in the locker room. >> derek, do you think there need to be more formal policies inside the nfl. from what i remember, you get one talk once a year that half the players are sleeping through? >> i will not here and say the nfl is not doing anything. but in this situation, i think they need to do a little bit more. because if you look at it, there have been countless guys that have been arrested for domestic violence in the last, you know, four, five, six years. the policies they have not gotten strict. hopefully after this situation, and goodell, you know, whatever you say about him, he did take a stance on it.

albeit it was after the fact. with implementing another policy. six games for the first offense. you know, suspension, year long suspension for the second offense. i think it should have been the >> they're certainly going to have a lot of eyes on them. thank you forgiving us that insider perspective on ray rice. we appreciate it. >> any time, rachel. >> that is it for us tonight. you can still get your "unguarded" fix by following me on the web and facebook. we'll see you back here friday night where the end of the game is just the start of the story. good night. on this episode of "death row stories," the murder of a wealthy young man in the big easy, seals the fate of a petty drug dealer. >> that's the guy who did it, and there's no question in my mind --