Report Claims TMZ Paid more than 100K for Ray Rice Videos
TMZ paid more than $100,000 to get the two elevator videos that showed former NFL player, Ray Rice, knocking out his then fiancée, Janay Palmer, an article in The New Yorker reported.
According to the article, during that night two years ago, after the incident broke out in the elevator of the Atlantic City casino hotel, Revel, "several surveillance officers gathered and wondered aloud if a tape of Rice and Palmer could be sold to TMZ." One of the guards had proceeded to videotape the footage on his cellphone. The guard then contacted TMZ and left a message on its tip line.
The article continued, stating that TMZ agreed to pay $15,000 for the first video that only showed the Baltimore Ravens running back dragging an unconscious Palmer out of the elevator. TMZ then acquired the second video for $90,000. This video actually showed Rice striking Palmer inside of the elevator after the couple got into a heated verbal argument.
The videos arguably ended Rice's football career. After the second video was published in September 2014, the Ravens immediately cut Ray, who has not since played another professional football game.
The videos also led to an increased scrutiny of the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens regarding how they dealt with domestic abuse cases. The league and its commissioner, Robert Kraft, denied accusations that they tried to of delay the initial investigation.
