Ray Rice Appeal: Disgraced Ravens Star to Contest Indefinite Suspension

Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens running back suspended indefinitely from the NFL for domestic violence, is expected to appeal his punishment sometime this week with help from the NFL Players Association, a source told The New York Times.

Rice, who would have resumed practicing with his team this week under his original two-game suspension, was hit with a harsher penalty after video footage of him knocking out his then-fiancée in an Atlantic City casino elevator sparked public outcry.

Rice has until 11:59 p.m. EST Tuesday to respond to his suspension, The Times noted.

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Last week, critics railed against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, accusing him of being too lenient on Rice, who was seen dragging an unconscious Janay Rice out of the elevator in the assault footage.

In a letter to the player's union, Goodell levied the harsher punishment and insisted that Rice was not forthcoming about the events when they first initially came to light.

"This video shows a starkly different sequence of events from what you and your representatives stated when we met on June 16, and is important new information that warrants reconsideration of the discipline imposed on you in July," Goodell wrote in the letter, according to the Baltimore Sun. "Based on this new information, I have concluded that the discipline imposed upon you in July was insufficient under all the circumstances and have determined instead to impose an indefinite suspension."

Ken Belson for The Times said Rice and his legal team will likely argue that the league cannot suspend him twice for the same act and will try to prove that Goodell is responding more to the public pressure of the video than any new information that he learned from it.

NFL and Baltimore Ravens officials have maintained that they did not see the inside-the-elevator video footage until last week when it was posted on TMZ. But an anonymous law enforcement official told The Associated Press that it was made available to them back in April.

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