(AP) NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not rule out the possibility of former Ravens running back Ray Rice returning to play in the league after serving a suspension for domestic violence. 

But Goodell said first the league would have to be "fully confident" that Rice has addressed his personal issues, and paid a price for his past behavior.



Goodell said the league asked for, but was not given, that video of Rice striking his then-fiancee - and that "no one in the NFL, to my knowledge" had seen it - before it was posted online.

Two videos, one released by TMZ Sports and another shown later to The Associated Press by a law enforcement official, show Rice punching Janay Palmer -- who is now his wife -- at an Atlantic City casino in February. They are graphic, and show more detail than an initial video released by TMZ in July that showed him dragging her from an elevator.

After the latest TMZ video made its way around the Internet, the Ravens cut Rice and the league barred him indefinitely. But the video renewed criticism about the NFL's decision to initially suspend Rice for just two games, and raised questions about how strenuously the case was investigated.

Goodell has previously said he "didn't get it right" with Rice and the league set up new penalties for domestic violence: a six-game suspension for a first offense, at least a year for a second.

"I would tell you that what we saw in the first videotape was troubling to us, in and of itself," Goodell said. "But what we saw yesterday was extremely clear, is extremely graphic, and it was sickening. And that's why we took the action we took yesterday."

Meanwhile, Palmer has taken to social media to defend her husband. In a statement reportedly posted to her Instagram account, she said in part, "To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday is a horrible thing," and "We will continue to grow & show the world what real love is!"