AP

The organization which shared the Ray Rice punching his wife in the face video with the world said the NFL never asked for it.

TMZ wrote this morning that league officials never contacted the Revel Casino to request video footage they might have had, and that the casino “would have gladly complied” had they been asked.

Of course, as Florio mentioned last night, there were plenty of other ways to obtain the video which got Rice fired instantly and suspended indefinitely.

TMZ’s sources said that the casino made a copy of the elevator footage for police, and Rice’s lawyer has a copy along with TMZ. So there are at least three of them floating around.

The league insisted yesterday they had requested information from law enforcement officials, but didn’t see the tape until TMZ shared it with the world yesterday morning.

Barring a credible explanation from the NFL, the only options at the moment seem to be willful ignorance or gross negligence, and neither is a particularly good look for the league right now.