janay palmer became janay rice when she married ray the day after he was indicted for what he did to her in an elevator in atlantic city earlier this year. here is the painful silence video of what happened in that elevator. >> janay rice has made two public statements about what happened in that elevator. the first was at a press conference on may 23 when janay and ray each made short statements and took no questions. >> first, i want to say thank you for all to those who have supported us throughout this situation. i do deeply regret the role that i played in the incident that night, but i can say that i am happy that we continue to work through it together, and we are continuing to strengthen our relationship and our marriage and do what we have to do for not only ourselves collectively and we're going to continue to be good role models. i love ray and i know he will continue to prove himself to not only you all, but the community. and i know he will gain your respect back in due time. so thank you, guys. >> that is the entirety of what j ooh janay had to say. and today, she wrote

we saw how janay palmer rice behaved even when it was all caught on camera. how many spouses who are abused by professional athlete, husbands, fiancee, boyfriends, keep their mouth shut because they realize the revenue is going to go away, the income is going to go away, the lifestyle is going to evaporate if that man gets -- >> that's not want only reason. that's not the only reason. we know from data that plenty of people with a lot less financial reason whatsoever don't speak out or don't to want testify or even sometimes have some action with the justice system and withdraw because they're afraid of getting hurt again. >> i agree with you. the issues that exist for everyone, exist for pro athletes, but you throw on top of it the threat that the pro athlete is no longer going to be a pro athlete and you have a very substantial financial impact. >> it's a very incredibly unequal power dynamic. mike florio, thank you for helping us understand this situation. >> thanks for having me. >> perry, to you, i have to think that going forward, the nfl, nhl, mlb, nba

does janay rice deserve better?ve she does >> give me your thoughts if this was a colossal screw up by the nfl and if she is caught in the cross fire of all this? >> i sympathize for her. i refuse to judge her. whatever she feels, i feel support for her. this is a very difficult situation. i am not sure the media is able to capture the nuance. but the more, the discipline on ray, we end up punishing janay again. hive can if he can't make a living. he can't support her. >> doesn't he have a massive contract that will survive this. doesn't he have a multimillion dollar contract. does that go away with the sus pension? >> he was waived by the ravens. he does not have a contract. well, he, you know, first of all. the only money he has is money that he earned. if he got a signing bonus, there is a chance that the last three years have been $9 million or $15 million would be forfeited. it's not clear at all that -- that, he, he, he has the money. but whatever he has or whatever he doesn't make is going to impact the woman

staged a press conference where janay rice and ray rice sat next to each other so janay rice could taker responsibility" for what took place. so much of this was stage managed by the baltimore ravens to make ray rice look as good as possible and to make the team look at supportive of him as possible. once again, this is not the baltimore ravens in a vacuum. this is how the nfl deals with domestic violence league-why. a player and ray mcdonald for the san francisco 49ers was arrested after his pregnant fiancÉe was found with bruises on her body after a party and she called the police. ray mcdonald still played this past week and despite those charges against him. why? because he was not caught on videotape. if he was, he probably would not have been playing. this is about the national football league that treats violence against women as a public relations crisis, not a crisis about the ways in which the violence of the game spills over into people's families. >> this is nfl insider adam schefter speaking to the is been monday night, reacting to the video showing ray rice knock his piazz

janay is me, i'm janay. a lot of us are janay.arried my husband after the first time that he hit me. he'd hit me several times and i still married him. and the answer could be because she loves him. she feels a need to protect him. her finances are tied to him. it could be a multitude of reasons. and i can't speak for her. i can only speak for me. there are a multitude of women out there who stay with the person who abuses them, who stay with them and they love them and they try to help them and they want the best for them. it can be as complex as there are children involved. he could be threatening her or her family. or she could love him. in my situation, i loved my husband. i loved my husband before he was my husband. i wanted to protect him from arrest. i didn't want him to get in trouble. i didn't want him to lose his job. so i was thinking about him and not necessarily myself. and i think that's the story of a lot of people out there. we're afraid. we're scared. we're worried about our future and everything that we know, our

janay rice posted her thoughts on instagram.media as she describe this is horrible nightmare of seeing the video replayed and replayed and her husband's release from the ravens as well as his nfl suspensi suspension. she says she's left feeling as if she's mourning the death of a friend. >> at one point janay rice writes "if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you succeeded on so many levels. just know we will continue to grow and show the world what real love is." i think that surprised a lot of people when they saw this. we're joined by legal analyst and commentator mel robbins. also joining us katie ray jones, president and ceo of national domestic violence hotline. mel, katie ray, i want to be clear. the one thing we don't want to do is blame the victim here. this is not her fault. janay did not -- this was not her fault what happened in that elevator. but a lot of people are seeing this response on instagram, mel, and they're surprised. what's your reaction? >> good mo

." >> janay rice is neither a punching bag nor a punch line. >> i know janay to be very kind.y smart, intelligent. >> for professor sandy nichols and others, she is not simply the woman in the elevator. >> a very sweet and motivated student. they just worked really hard. >> we are thinking of her as a one dimensional character. that she is the wife of ray rice. she is a victim of domestic violence. those do not define who she is. she is a mother, a friend, a committed student. >> that janay, according to friends who know her, is anxious to get her life back. >> on sundays, game day, getting ready, going to the stadium. sitting with the rest of the wives, cheering on her husband. that life has been taken away. >> they got to know her personally when she co-hosted a radio show. >> they were a young couple in love. >> before she was janay rice, she was janay ashley palmer, a girl from the new york suburb of mt. vernon. >> she was the president of the student council at her high school which was an exclusive, all girls catholic high school. >> ray attended nearby new rochelle and

>> my read is that what janay rice isn't the issue. the issue to me is that the nfl and the ravens chose to implicitly blame her for her role and make her take the blame. there was that infamous tweet which has now been deleted where they said janay, i guess then at that point it was palmer, regrets her role in the incident and talked about mitigating factors. you know, that video shows absolutely no mitigating factors. so, you know, my personal experience notwithstanding and my personal experience as we've seen from the #whyistayed and #whyileft has been shared by many, many women. not about what janay rice should or should not do, the point is that domestic violence is serious, needs to be taken seriously and the nfl did not take it seriously. as you said at the top of the show, it was one thing when the world hadn't seen the video and quite another thing when the world had. >> changed everything. changed everything. your read. >> i fully agree. i think that janay comments are heartbreaking and yet still show blaming herself, saying

nothing but hope and goodwill for ray and janay. and we'll do whatever we can going forward to help them as they go forward and try to make the best of it. it's something we saw for the first time today. all of us. and it changed things, of course. you know, it made things a little bit different. >> just sort of the attitude in the first instance of not really seeming that outraged, is that a symptom of something we should be paying attention to inside nfl culture? >> in a respect, yes. when you look at an nfl player, we take something so seriously that should not be taken seriously. it's a game, right? so, when it comes to things outside locker rooms, we are koointd kind -- not desensitized, we need to look at things differently. we pay a kid's game for a king's ransom. for something like this happens that's such a serious thing, at times we don't process it that fast. roman will tell you this, you know, when these type of things happen, there are rules put in place. now we'll have a ray rice rule. and that is a rule that no nfl pl

janay, i have a message for you. you may forgive him, but by so doing you send him a message and an even worse message to battered women abusers. if a man beats a woman, he's going to continue to beat her and the beatings will increase in intensity and frequency as time went on. i know. this was my crusade when no one even considered it a crime. with me now, former prosecutor, criminal defense attorney sema ire, am i wrong? >> of course you're not wrong, judge, however, ray rice was very fortunate here, judge, because he went to a different statute where there was a list of factors. so while you are absolutely correct, ray rice got the benefit of the doubt here. the other factors include whether the victim wants to prosecute. so there's a list of 17 factors. >> right. >> the problem here, which, again, goes to your larger point of janay being a victim is that we don't accurately know the history between ray rice and janay. janay has said now on two prior occasions closer to the event and just recently after the secon

what i would like to see is the focus away from janay and onto the issue itself.at tape shows very graphically what occurs behind closed door around the country each day. that's the lesson we need to take away from that. >> the nfl has come under tremendous scrutiny. how does this speak to the experience of victims of domestic violence, that there's such a huge organization in america with such a huge impact in our society that really boggled investigation now being questioned for not reviewing or knowing that the tape was out there. it was a joke at best the way it is all unfolding. what does this speak to our society on victims of domestic violence. >> i think the way the nfl has mishandled this entire scandal has done enormous dang damage to ig janay rice. the victim sometimes attaches herself ever closer to her abuser and create an external an me. and so it is you and me against the world. that's how she feels safe. as long as his anger is directed outward. people need to understand it makes it very much more difficult to get away from that situation of violen

in a statement, janay rice called the situation a nightmare. she went on to write, to make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. just know we will continue to grow and show the world what real love is. some may rush to question janay's commitment to the man the baltimore ravens cut yesterday. debra alfarone has more on why women who are abused decide to stay in those relationships. >> one in four women in this country will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. but not many women will ever have their worst moment video taped and released for the world to see. and wusa9 will not show the worst part. we will show the domestic violence victims sparked by beverly gooden of north carolina monday. i try to leave the house once after an abusive episode and he blocked me. he slept in front of the door that entire night. hashtag, why i stayed. the human resources manager sparked a conversation with her hashtag. people chimed in adding, why i left. like this tweet. i thought he would kill me. why i left, i

. >> janay rice standing by her man. >> i love ray. >> now, with the why i stayed hash tag going viral, one former victim of domestic violence. >> physically abusive relationship. >> telling us here tonight what goes on behind closed doors in an abusive home. >> unless you've been through it yourself, there's no way you can relate to the feeling. >>> plus, a spectacular announcement from afterle today. and our david muir was right there. >> how fun it is to send the first tweet ever from an apple watch. >> our exclusive look behind the scenes at the unveiling with ceo tim cook. it is the revolutionary technology fans hotly anticipated. can the i-future possibly live up to the hype? >>> and, is bono the new beyonce? apple wasn't the only one with a big announcement. tonight, how u2 almost upstaged the iphone 6 with a fan surprise of their own. but first -- the "nightline" five. >> when i crave a smoke, that's all i crave. that's where this comes in. >> only nicorette gum has patented duel-coated technology for great test. plus, it gives you intense craving relief. >> and that helps put

here's what janay rice wrote on instagram.n i love that he has worked his ass all for his whole life just to gain ratings is horrific. this is our life. what don't you all get? if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all our happiness away, you succeeded on so many levels. in response "washington post" columnist wrote, poor woman. domestic violence is above all embarrassing. and seeing the part of her life she thought was behind closed doors broadcast around the world is humiliating. but there will be greater good out of her personal pain. this seems to be the position of many. on purpose or by default. it doesn't what she says or wants as long as her pain and humiliation serve a greater good. i want us to pause and say her name, janay rice. i want us to read her words. this is our life. i want us to take her seriously. not because we agree with ler, but because what is happening right now doesn't seem to have much to do with janay at all. when a survivor chooses to tell her story, it is empo

ray rice was punching his then fianceÉ janay palmer in the face.roger goodale revealed he knew there was a tape inside of the elevator. he or anybody else was not allowed to see it. he has taken flack after he suspended him for just two games after he dragged his unconscious fianceÉ out the elevator. they called for a re-evaluation to allow rice to enroll in a pre-trial intervention program that allowed him to avoid criminal prosecution. rice's wife janay blamed the media for their troubles making the couple "relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing." why is rice's victim the most defender. >>reporter:most abused women and men stick it out. it resonating strongly with people. they are5y talking on twitter about it. thousands are sharing their stories of what happened to them. personal stories using the #whyistayedandwhyileft we took with the councillors and experts it may take years for victims to leave but most stay. the reasons are complex. >>reporter:it's a personal encounter. it's not an isolated problem. domest

janay is now his wife.a lot of people are asking why janay would not only stay with him but why would she marry him. we're joined by aviva martin, attorney and legal affairs commentator, mel robbins, cnn commentator and legal analyst, and marc lamont hill, cnn political commentator, to talk about all of this. thanks for being here, guys. first i want to play for you janay palmer's statement, what she -- how she explained that she was going to stick with ray rice. watch this. >> i do deeply regret the role that i played in the incident that night. but i can say that i am happy that we continue to work through it together. i love ray, and i know he will continue to prove himself to not only you all but the community. and i know he will gain your respect back in due time. so thank you guys. >> aviva, i want to start with you. she says that she loves him and they're working through it. what do you hear when you hear her statement? >> i hear what -- alisyn, i hear a lot of women who are involved in domestic viol

janay posted, and we quote again. to make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. she also said this. to take something from the man i love that he worked his blank off for his whole life just to gain ratings is horrific. to be clear, wusa9 has chosen not to show the most horrific part of the video. today, the hashtag, why i stayed blew up on twitter as women and some men shared why it's not always easy to immediately leave. karma runs the d.c. coalition against domestic violence. >> and i don't know janay. so i don't know what her particular position is. i would say not to judge, just to love her whatever the situation is and to be there for her if she needs a confidant. >> one in four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. that is according to state horizon.org. women between the ages of 20 and 24 are at the greatest risk of becoming victims. every year, more than 3 million children witnessed domestic violence in their homes and according to experts, those

i think that that statement from janay rice hit me pretty hard. i played the video and there's the sense of all the people who have the biggest right to tell everyone to shut the hell up and go away, it is her. at the center of all of this is her and at the center is someone no one is really looking out for in some weird way. >> i think janay rice's life started becoming a nightmare. not from the media, but when ray rice decided to knock her unconscious in a elevator. i don't think the problem is the media. i think that's very good. i think it definitely is a little bit worrying seeing her be more concerned about his livelihood than her own. but at the same time, we shouldn't be blaming her. we shouldn't be judging her. for a lot of survivors, their livelihood is connected to the livelihood of their abuser, too. >> right. if they're saying it's mons strouss and you marry him the next day. you hear it. you see people giving her sigh nigh. i want everyone in america to step off janay rice. just step off. that's my feeling. >> i think i used scram on

his wife janay also responded today. her comments via instagram saying i woke up this morning feeling like i had a horrible nightmare, feeling like i'm mourning the death of my closest friend. she went on to say, if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass, take us feel alone, take our happiness away, you have succeeded on so many levels. recapping what happened monday, 4:00 a.m., tmz releases video inside the elevator of rice punching his fiancee. 10:00 a.m., the nfl puts out a statement, saying it had not seen video before that morning. 2:00 p.m., the ravens cut ray rice. and 3:00 p.m., the nfl suspends rice indefinitely. >> something fishy going on here. but the ravens play this thursday. no word if fans are going to be demonstrating in favor or against baltimore's decision to cut the running back. back to you guys. >> thank you, dianna. >>> tonight we're getting a snapshot of just how prevalent the issue of domestic violence is. take a look at these numbers just from maryland and just from the month of july. state

so you connect to janay on many different levels. and you say you understand why she wouldn't leave. tell us about that. >> man nybe not necessarily understand why she wouldn't leave. i can understand why it is not an easy decision. people are saying why doesn't she just leave? my mom who is a -- a, an incredibly intelligent woman, educated, administrator in a school district before she retired, her own home was in a relationship with someone for ten years who all she had to do was tell him to leave. all she had to do was lock the doors. there was something about it that she just couldn't let go. and to see it happen with my own mother who is such a rock, i can imagine it could happen to any one. >> dawn, also some people have suggested maybe janay is staying because of the wealth and privilege that comes from being married to an nfl player, do you thinking that could be playing into it? >> will i think there is a perception that nfl wives are just golddigs to gers to begin . to know your spouse is laying on the field with a blown ou

janay rice has been largely silent since the february assault. in march, the couple, who met in high school, got married. soon after, ray rice cut a deal with prosecutors to avoid a trial. and the ravens organized a news conference. >> my wife is here and i just wanted to thank her for -- for loving me where i was weak and building up where i was strong. >> reporter: and janay apologized. >> i do deeply regret the role i played in the incident that night. but i can say that i am happy that we continue to work through it together. >> reporter: the nfl suspended rice just two games. his coach and teammates squarely behind him. >> i stand behind ray. he's a heck of a guy. he's done everything right since. he makes a mistake, all right? he's going to have to pay a consequence. >> reporter: it took that new video for the nfl to suspend him indefinitely. >> how much of a wakeup call is this about domestic violence? it brings it home. it helps us understand that this is happeni ing in homes every d. every single day. >> reporter: and today, new question

make it matter. >>> tonight ray rice's wife janay defending the man she loves. is speaking out a day after the video surfaced showing her punched in a casino elevator leaving her lifeless on the ground. she is blaming the media and the nfl not her husband. she is one of several woman who have been abused by an nfl athlete that we are aware of, jean cassares is outfront. >> when ray rice knocked out his then fiancee janay palmer may be seven months old but the impact is still being felt. i woke up this morning feeling like i had a horrible nightmare. feeling like i'm mourning the death of my closest friend. that was the instagram who was posted by palmer, who is now married to rice, blaming the media for the indefinite suspension by the nfl. rice's actions cost him his job with the baltimore ravens and possibly his football career, but his story isn't unique when it comes to the nfl. he is one of several players facing implications of domestic abuse but the others are still playing. >> when the truth comes out, everybody knows what kind of person i am. >> a membe

i don't want to say forgiving, but understanding of janay staying in this relationship.what it's like to be married to a player. they didn't say excuse, but other circumstances why she would return of people wouldn't know about. >> interesting perspective. thanks. >>> let's go over to dylan. >> i'm hearing rumors you guys were the loudest on the plaza this morning? >> uh-huh. >> that's all you. take it away. >> still to come on "today," dylan and erica have a few tricks up their sleeves. >> they're getting crafty in the kitchen with chef lessons at the ♪ each year 17 billion toilet paper tubes are thrown away in the us alone. that's enough to fill the empire state building...twice. now there's scott naturals tube-free bath tissue. get the premium softness you need... ...without the wasteful tube. toss the tube for good with scott naturals tube-free. mom usually throws a gogurt in there. well mom's not here today so we're doing things dad's way. which means i get... two. (singing) snack time and lunch. (singing) snack time and lunch. gogurt because lunch needs some fun. (

. >> as he replayed the event disclosed to the ravens, he also noted that soon after the video of janay and ray coming out of that elevator became public, we contacted casino management. these are his words and asked if there was view of the incident from inside of the elevator that we could see. the casino would not share such video. we asked the local new jersey police and the police refused as well. we asked the prosecutor's office and that office refused. the nfl was also trying to retrieve and/or see the video. bishotti says seeing that video changed everything. he goes on to say, we should have seen it earlier and pursued our own investigation more vigorously. we didn't and we were wrong. roger goodell is also chiming in for the first time since the full video came out. >> here's goodell's response over the heat he's getting to the league's response of the video. >> reporter: commissioner roger goodell broke his silence in an interview with cbs this morning. >> did you know a second tape existed? >> we had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. we assumed that th

that's most significantly, janay rice has spoken out. no one knows the pain the media and unwanted opinions from the public has caused my family. today, we relive a moment in our lives that caused such a horrible thing. this is our life. what don't you get? if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, take everything we have away, you've succeeded on so many levels. >> this has been a teachable moment on doe mesic violence in america. people have judged her in the decision she has made in the wake me incident. some amazing hash tags on twitter. why i stayed and why i left with women talking about their own experiences. what's clear is that engaging in violence is morally inexcusable and wrong. everything else around this issue is complicated. joining me now is elizabeth planks. i think that that statement from janay rice hit me pretty hard. i played the video and there's the sense of all the people who have the biggest right to tell everyone to shut the hell up and go away, it is her. at the center of all of this is her and at the c

janay rice, she posted her thoughts on instagram earlier today. i woke up this morning feeling like i had a horrible nightmare, feeling like i'm mourning the death of my closest friend. she went on to say, if your intentions were to embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all the happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. the couple has been seeking counseling together since that original video was released back in february. as for ray rice's playing days, he's been cut from the ravens, and conversations have already started that a lifetime ban from the nfl could be on the table. back to you guys. >> all right. dianna russini. thanks. >>> it didn't take long for the conversation to shift from ray and janay rice to the bigger problem of domestic violence in communities across our country. so with so much focus on that problem, we wanted to get to the heart of what's being done about it. in our area. here's news4's kristin wright. >> reporter: the ray rice video is prompting a new nationwide discussion on domestic violence. >> it's not easy

janay needs compassion. she does not need judgment. >> yes. for saying that. >> she is caught in a cycle of abuse. she herself is not aware because she's in the middle of this. exactly how she's been manipulated. how the team put her out, you know, to the pasture and used her as a tool to defend a blatant batterer. and now, again, and i say this at the beginning, what's so infuriating to me is the fact that the nfl had an opportunity. the goodell had an opportunity. when that video first came out and i find it improbable, not impossible but improbable that they never saw what happened inside that elevator. because we know the defense team most likely had access to that. now, here. he gave a two-game suspension. there was a huge outcry. he took a stand. but now because of the new video, now they cut him. to me, what that looks like is protecting your brand. it's distancing yourself from a player who has no longer, now the benefit, you know, is minimized by his liability based upon this huge position that goodell took saying we are going to be t

his way, janay spoke out on social media. >> the video sparked a new round of conversation about domestic violence. some victims feel alone so this may offer hope to women in a dangerous situation. >> ray rice's marriage is under the microscope after the world saw him punching his now wife janay in the elevator. today she posted her first comments on instagram saying in part, no one knows the pain the media and opinions the of the public has cause mid family and she went on to say we will show the world what real love is. those comments and natural reactions are sparking a powerful conversation on social media. two new hashtags titled #whyistayed and #whyileft. one saying, why i stayed, i thought i was his best friend, why i left, i became my own best friend. this stems from the question many started asking why would janay stay. >> the most dangerous time is when they are preparing to leave or they have left. >> she is the director for domestic violence saying battered women oftenonomic reas cases, fear. >> he may say i'll kill you or your family if you leave. >> critics say she believes

she says janay wants everyone to know. >> janay wanted you to come on our show.at is the message she wants to communicate to america? >>> then, boos for bieber, as he strips down to his underwear. >>> and that's not a river, it's a highway. >> oh my god, look at that! >> the wild weather sweeping across the nation. >>> plus, what happened to serena williams after she made history at the u.s. open? >> she was going to join us live here this morning. she's a bit delayed. >> serena's disappearing act. she never showed. >>> and -- >> that's not the point. what part of this aren't you get nothing. >> what

ray rice and janay palmer were player aid month after the video.y were planning for a summer wedding. that got moved up to the day after ray rice was indicted for aggravated assault. what do you think when you hear that? >> well, it doesn't surprise me at all of i married my abuser five days after the first time he attacked me. and it is very hard to understand domestic violence from the outside. but love and violence are a potent mix. and i think what happens a lot to victims, we don't realize that we're actually victims. and we want to, we love our abusers and we want to help them. and somehow in a very twisted way, we think by standing by them and by supporting them in their darkest hours, that we will help them. and it is very important to stress that the worst thing you can do for an abusive person is to allow him or her to abuse you without consequences. and what janay needs to do is to leave him until he gets better and to stop apologizing for her own role in it. i understand why she is apologizing but it doesn't help anybody. mostly it does

so you connect to janay on many different levels. and you say you understand why she wouldn't leave. tell us about that. >> maybe not necessarily understand why she wouldn't leave, but i certainly understand why it's not an easy decision. people saying why doesn't she just leave? my mom, who is an incredibly intelligent woman, educated, an administrator in a school district before she retired. her own home was in a relationship for ten years who all she had to do was tell him to leave. all she had to do was lock the doors. and there was something about it that she just couldn't let go. and to see it happen with my own mother, who is a such a rock, i can imagine it can happen to anyone. >> and dawn, also some people have suggested that maybe janay is staying because of all of the wealth and privilege that comes from being married to an nfl player. do you think that could be playing into it? >> i think there's a perception that nfl wives are just gold diggers to begin with. but if you've actually lived this life, to know what it's like

janay is so strong. we are in good spirits. and janay, writes, of course now married to the man who struck her, defended her husband in a quickly deleted instagram post today. she wrote this is our live. what don't you all get? if you're intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. just know we will continue to grow and show the world what real love is. now, while ray rice and his wife deal with their personal issues, the pressure is now increasingly on the nfl officials to say precisely what they knew and when they knew it. the clear implication for many sports insiders is that those who run the nfl were willing to sweep the issue under the rug when a woman got hit and only decided to act when it was the nfl's reputation taking the hit. sean? >> jonathan, thank you. we'll have complete coverage of all of ray rice developments throughout the hour. first we turn to politics as president obama is set to address the nation tomorrow night on his strategy

video released prompted janay parker now janay rice to blame the media the couple it's problems.tern nam says abuse victims often defend their attack are but judging victims is the last thing they need. >> i don't think it's helpful to a victim or a survivor to feel judged. when we start having pins about what someone else should do, i never want that to be a deter deterrent for someone seeking help. >> steve sweeney has called for another look at the an lick county prosecutor's >> first impression on the new line of apple products. abc's renna ninan has them in tech bites. in today's tech bites apple is entering the wearables market a nick of the new york times told abc's neal the battery life will be an issue. >> they are going to continue to pursue updates on the battery life. >> reporter: both of the iphone six models go on sale much sooner, next week. they're both bigger than the earlier iphones and also faster and thinner with improved cameras. iphone six plus has a 5.5-inch screen and long battery life and here's why you u2 performed. apple is giving away the band's new al

she says janay wants everyone to know. >> janay wanted you to come on our show.t is the message she wants to communicate to america? >>> then, boos for bieber, as he strips down to his underwear. >>> and that's not a river, it's a highway. >> oh my god, look at that! >> the wild weather sweeping across the nation. >>> plus, what happened to serena williams after she made history at the u.s. open? >> she was going to join us live here this morning. she's a bit delayed. >> serena's disappearing act. she never sh

>> no one in the nfl to my knowledge. >> janay palmer now janay rice has blamed the media for the couple'sbles and says barring her husband from playing football was a horrific punishment. in our next half hour we'll hear from a local domestic abuse counselor. if you're in an abusive relationship there is help. the national domestic hotline is one-800-799-safe. >> while we have just learned president obama's top diplomat has arrived in iraq. "action news" reporter erin o'hearn is live at the big board with the preview. >> reporter: this is breaking news. just in as the president prepares for his speech tonight secretary of state john kerry has just arrived in an unannounced visit to iraq. he's expected to have top level talks on the joint strategy against isis. as we said this comes ahead of the president's speech. not only has the public become increasing the worried about the threat posed by isis but tomorrow marks the 13 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. obama has been criticized for what many call a timid response thus far for dealing with isis. according to a white house official

it's shocking to me. >> what did everybody think that janay launched herself into the wall and knocked herself out? >> we already knew he had dragged her unconscious from the elevator and it doesn't matter what happened in the elevator in terms of the early stories and theories as you point out that were floated around. woman cannot cause her own beating. it doesn't matter if she's drunk, it doesn't matter anything she may have done or not done. there's nothing somebody that size can do to make someone else that size hit them. ray rice was never threatened in this situation. >> they were both arrested and i think that led to speculation from different parties about why were they both arrested, which is crazy. >> what was she arrested to are? >> i don't think we know. >> i read the statement -- >> you got to come back and see this in a larger context, it's domestic violence in general. atlantic city, where this took place, is a city in new jersey with a very big crime rate, and a lot of murders take place, rapes, robberies, in that jurisdiction, huge unemployment problems, casinos are c

janay and ray rice have said this was 30 seconds of their life, that this was a one-time thing, this is not their relationship typically is. we really is no choice but to take their word at what it is and say we either believe them or don't but that is how they are terming it. and you can talk about that if you want to say, hey, they only said it happened one time and we want to move forward with. this i personally think ray rice does e servedeserve a second ch play in the nfl. we are a country of second chances. but i do think that any time when you talk about a domestic violence incident it's wrong to use the word "mistake." >> derek, i wanted to get your thoughts on this. you know, you don't know what to believe, frankly. you don't know what race raye rice exactly told roger goodell with his wife sit beg side him and his lawyer in the room. but there are those who have come forward to espn and said rice did not lie to the commissioner, he admitted that he punched janay. do you believe that? >> i do. i believe considering what happened ray had no reason to lie because eventually he

remember, the ravens put janay rice on a platform to apologize.lassically what victims do -- blame themselves. and the courage and stlaeng is required to break this cycle -- >> but maybe, senator, a woman in charge of the nfl might have realized that and it may not have happened? >> that may well be and if that's the reason condoleezza rice becomes nfl commissioner, not that it's her dream job, all the better. but i have great respect for her. i think that the present leadership of the nfl should be required to do the right thing. >> senator richard blumenthal, thanks so much for joining me. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. and never quite get over it.y. seven billion hungry people. well, we grow a lot of food. we also waste about a third of wh

i have to be there for janay right now and my family right now and work through this. >> and janay writes in part, no one knows the pain that the might yeah and unwanted opinions from the public has caused my family to make us relive a memory in our lives that we aget is a horrible thing. if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you have succeeded on so many levels. just know that we will continue to grow and show the world what real love is. >> and harvey loven joins us. how many copies of that tape are there? and does the nfl see it? >> well, look, yeah, we know that the police came over to the casino, and they got a copy, and they gave it to the prosecutor, and i, what goodell is saying about the prosecutor, i know is correct, because i've connected to people in that office, and they say there is no way they would give up that video because it was part of the grand jury investigation. >> stop there. >> he pled to a misdemeanor, right? i'm a lawyer, you're a lawyer? >> he was indicted for a felony. the grand jury indicted him for a f

he dragged me much like ray rice dragged janay, so i could relate to that.told some of my friends about this incident, they couldn't believe that it happened because he was such a charming man. charming, and handsome and nice. >> kudos to carol for speaking out about this. she has a platform at the network and she's able to use that for good. and i think this was a he row wick thing for her to do. >> i'm not usually a fan of journalists personalizing things after a celebrity event. in this instance, i think it was a good thing. i think it's helping to educate the public and showcasing that this can happen to anybody. let's give it a score. >> i'm giving that a nine. >> and i'll go with eight. >> i think that what she did was very brave. >> it's hard to talk about, isn't it? >> it's very hard. it happened to me 25 years ago. a boyfriend hit me in the face and i promptly left him and i've never spoken about it until right now because i didn't want to be perceived as a victim. >> but you're talking about it now. >> i'm talking about it now because i think it is