NFL Commissioner Tells CBS News He Never Saw Ray Rice Video Before It Was Leaked

The Ray Rice scandal that shook the world of sports and the public has not only damaged the reputation of the former Baltimore Ravens All-Pro running back, it has also raised questions of how the NFL handled the situation.Tomorrow, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will address the situation for the first time in an interview with Norah O'Donnell on CBS This Morning.

Rice was cut by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL Monday after a video emerged of the football player knocking out his then-fiancée Janay Rice with a punch to her face in a New Jersey hotel elevator back in February. Rice was initially suspended only two games when the video evidence only showed Rice dragging his unconscious fiancée out of the elevator.

Ray Rice's wife Janay breaks silence on "horrible nightmare"

In excerpts of Goodell's interview that aired Tuesday on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, the NFL commissioner asserted that neither he nor anyone in the NFL had seen the second tape before it was leaked. "Well, we had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed that there was a video," Goodell said. "We asked for a video. We asked for anything that's pertinent. But we were never granted the opportunity."

O'Donnell then pressed him about why the NFL was unable to obtain the second tape, but TMZ.com was able to get the footage. "Well, I don't know how TMZ or any other website gets their information," Goodell said. "We are particularly reliant on law enforcement. That's the most reliable. It's the most credible, and we don't seek to get that information from sources that are not credible."

When O'Donnell asked if the NFL had dropped the ball or had been "willfully ignorant" about the second tape, Goodell took responsibility for the league's actions. "Well, we certainly didn't know what was on the tape. But we have been very open and honest. And I have also," Goodell said. "From two weeks ago when I acknowledged it, we didn't get this right. That's my responsibility. And I'm responsible for that."

Goodell's interview comes just two days before the highly anticipated CBS debut of Thursday Night Football, which will see Rice's former team, the Ravens, go up against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Viewers can watch a portion of Goodell's sit-down below. The full interview will air Wednesday at 7 a.m./6c on CBS This Morning.

(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS.)