A day after a new video surfaced showing Ray Rice hitting his then-fiancée in the face in a hotel elevator, prompting the Baltimore Ravens to release the running back and the NFL to increase his suspension from two games to indefinite, Janay Rice defended her husband and criticized the media.

"I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend," she wrote in an Instagram post. "But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted [opinions] from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday is a horrible thing.

"To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his 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 happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!"

ESPN's Josina Anderson spoke to the Rices by phone Tuesday. Asked how he was doing, Ray Rice responded, "I have to be strong for my wife. She is so strong. ... We are in good spirits. We have a lot of people praying for us and we 'll continue to support each other."

Rice added, "I have to be there for [Janay] and my family right now and work through this."

After that, Ray handed his phone to his wife. "I love my husband. I support him," Janay Rice said. "I want people to respect our privacy in this family matter."

TMZ Sports released the video that showed Rice assaulting his wife on its website Monday. Earlier Tuesday TMZ reported that sources connected with the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City told TMZ Sports no one from the NFL asked the casino for the video of the couple in the elevator from the Feb. 15 incident. Instead, the league apparently relied on previously released video that showed Rice dragging his fiancée -- who is seemingly unconscious -- from the elevator before determining that he would serve a two-game suspension. The penalty was levied in July.

The Ravens said Monday that they'd not seen the video released Monday by TMZ Sports, either. Asked why the team wasn't able to view the video sooner, coach John Harbaugh told reporters at a Monday night news conference: "I don't know why that would be a hard thing to understand. It wasn't available. It wasn't there for us. It wasn't something that we ever saw or had access to."

The Associated Press reported Monday night that it had viewed a higher-quality video provided by a law enforcement official, and that Rice and Palmer could be heard shouting obscenities at each other. According to the AP, after she collapses, he drags her out of the elevator and is met by some hotel staff. One of them can be heard saying, "She's drunk, right?" And then, "No cops." Rice doesn't respond.

The video, which is slightly longer than the TMZ version and includes some audio, was shown to the AP on condition of anonymity because the official isn't authorized to release it.

The NFL repeated Tuesday that authorities did not make available the video of the assault, despite a claim by TMZ.com that the league did not ask the hotel for it. In statements, the league said it had asked New Jersey State Police for it, and had "reached out multiple times to the Atlantic City Police Department and the Atlantic County prosecutor's office."

The Ravens reached their decision to release Rice in a quick meeting between Harbaugh, owner Steve Bisciotti, general manager Ozzie Newsome and team president Dick Cass, according to Harbaugh.

"The Baltimore Ravens terminated the contract of RB Ray Rice this afternoon," the team's statement read.

Bisciotti first saw the video on television and decided almost immediately that Rice had to be released, a source told ESPN's Ed Werder. Bisciotti called a meeting to confer with other members of the organization's hierarchy. Newsome called Rice to inform him of the team's decision. Harbaugh also spoke to Rice, while Bisciotti contacted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The source said that Rice admitted to the Ravens from the start that he was guilty of striking Janay and, for the most part, accurately described what they eventually saw on the video. But the brutality of the assault when seen on the security video made a different impression.