Official Says He Sent The NFL The Ray Rice Video Back In April

A law enforcement official says he sent the disturbing video of Ray Rice knocking his now-wife unconscious to the attention of the NFL's security chief back in April, months before the league claims it knew of the tape, the Associated Press is reporting.

The NFL came under intense pressure after the website TMZ published the disturbing video of the former Baltimore Ravens running back earlier this month. As an apparent defense to this criticism, the league assured the public that it had not seen the video before it was released publicly.

In fact, a law enforcement official told the AP, the video came to the attention of league security chief Jeffrey Miller in April. However, Miller said Thursday through a league spokesman that he had not in fact seen the video, according to the AP.

The law enforcement official, who remained anonymous, couldn't confirm that Miller had opened the package. That official says he did receive a short voicemail from a woman at the league on April 9 confirming the package had been received.

"You're right. It's terrible," that woman reportedly said on the voicemail.

Rice was charged with assault back in February for the incident involving his then-fiancee Janay Palmer at an Atlantic City Casino. At the time, TMZ published a video showing Rice dragging Palmer's limp body out of the elevator.

In May, Rice started a one-year intervention program that allowed him to avoid jail time if he complied. He also got a two-game suspension, which was widely criticized as too light a punishment.

On Sept. 8, TMZ published a more disturbing video from inside the elevator, prompting the public outcry that likely led to Rice's indefinite suspension by the NFL.