Reports: Ray Rice will appeal his indefinite suspension

Running back Ray Rice will appeal his indefinite suspension from the NFL on Monday, according to multiple media reports including Mike Florio of NBC Sports and Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Running back Ray Rice will appeal his indefinite suspension from the NFL, according to multiple media reports, including the Associated Press. 

Rice's contention will be that he told the league the truth during the investigation into his assault charges for striking his then-fiancée at an Atlantic City casino in February. Rice, 27, has since married the woman and pled not-guilty this spring to one count of third-degree felony aggravated assault. 

His appeal will be carried out through the NFLPA and an outside lawyer retained by Rice. 

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The indefinite suspension was handed down by commissioner Roger Goodell citing the league's personal-conduct policy, which, as Florio notes, ultimately gives Goodell the authority over the appeal. 

Goodell is being looked at as part of an investigation into whether he had seen footage of the elevator incident before this month when it was released by the media. Rice initially received a two-game suspension for the assault, but when the footage was made public, the Ravens released him and the NFL handed down an indefinite ban. 

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press this month that he gave the footage to an NFL employee back in April and has a voicemail from a woman at an NFL office in which she confirms receipt of the footage. Goodell maintains that the league asked police for the footage but never received it and thus never saw the footage. 

Subsequently, Goodell appointed an ex-FBI director last week to head up an independent investigation into the situation, specifically looking at how evidence in the case was handled. The results of that investigation will be made public, Goodell said in the report. 

- Marc Weinreich