Ray Rice Elevator Video

Roger Goodell has reportedly just hired 3 women as "senior advisers" ... in an effort to shape the NFL's domestic violence and sexual assault policies.

The women -- Lisa Friel, Jane Randel and Rita Smith -- will be tasked with "making a real difference on these and other issues" ... so says the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Friel was the head of the Manhattan D.A.'s sex crimes unit for almost a decade ... but was reportedly asked to step down in 2011 after appearing in an HBO documentary and discussing details about a pending case.

The Carolina Panthers have decided to DEACTIVATE superstar defensive end Greg Hardy because of his domestic violence conviction -- a decision that was made by the team Sunday morning and it seems fairly obvious it's all because of the Ray Rice situation.

Back in July, a North Carolina judge found Hardy guilty of attacking his girlfriend and threatening her life during an altercation in May -- but the Panthers and the NFL decided not to punish Hardy while he appealed the decision and pursued a jury trial.

Translation -- THEY SAT ON THEIR HANDS AND DID NOTHING FOR MONTHS.

But now, in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal -- and a public outcry against the NFL for taking too light of a stance against domestic violence -- the Panthers have decided to deactivate Hardy for today's game.

As for the incident, Hardy's ex had claimed he beat the living crap out of her and threatened to kill her during a jealous late-night rage.

The woman had testified that Hardy got angry that night when he heard a Nelly song at a nightclub -- which angered him because the woman had briefly dated the rapper when she was on a break from Hardy.

Story developing ...

Ray Rice and his wife Janay have finally emerged in public -- attending a high school football game with their daughter Saturday .... laughing and smiling as if they didn't have a care in the world.

The couple surfaced in New Rochelle High School in NY -- where Ray played ball back in the day -- and cheered on the school from the sidelines.

Interesting, considering Ray's middle school recently took down his football jersey in the wake of the elevator attack video.

Meantime, the NRHS football coach expressed SUPPORT for Ray -- and said he will always be a part of the New Rochelle High family.

Ray didn't speak with the media -- and left before the game ended.

Ray Rice's criminal case was handled "outrageously" and "shamefully" ... this according to numerous prosecutors in the office ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Multiple prosecutors in the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office have spoken with TMZ -- on condition of anonymity -- and they say it is "virtually unheard of" for their office to allow someone like Ray Rice to avoid felony charges. What's more ... they say it all happened behind closed doors ... behind their backs.

We previously reported ... the grand jury indicted Rice for felony abuse after viewing the elevator video posted on TMZ Sports. Rice's lawyer then petitioned for something called PTI -- Pre-trial Intervention -- which gives first time offenders a break ... reducing the charge to a minor offense.

As one prosecutor said, "If there is violence or even a threat of violence by the perpetrator, prosecutors almost always object to a PTI and judges always follow the prosecutor's wishes" ... meaning the case gets tried as a felony.

Not so with Rice. We're told the case did NOT go to the Domestic Violence Unit ... which is where it should have gone. Instead, it was micromanaged by Jim McClain, the prosecutor who runs the office and his number 2 prosecutor, Diane Ruberton. The Domestic Violence Unit was in the dark.

Another prosecutor said, "Never did I see a case this violent get PTI. It's off the charts abnormal."

The prosecutors say virtually everyone in the office was outraged when the case was closed on May 20. As one prosecutor said, "The video is disgusting. He [Rice] treated her like a pile of s***, human garbage, dragging her out of the elevator."

And it gets worse. We're told either on June 17 or 18 ... Jim McClain called all of the prosecutors into the conference room and said he would no longer use the Domestic Violence Unit to process cases where the grand jury indicts abusers. We're told McClain said it was just a matter of resources.

But our sources say McClain's decision is a disaster. They say the cases are now handled by overworked prosecutors who handle general crimes and don't have the time or training to handle DV cases. They have no time to help the victims through the process. Our sources say McClain has "all but obliterated the DV Unit."

As for why McClain handled the Rice case the way he did and then emasculated the DV unit ... none of the prosecutors have a clue.

McClain tells TMZ Sports Diane Ruberton is "one of our most experienced attorneys," adding she was assisted by a Victim Witness Coordinator. McClain also said he consulted with Ruberton and another prosecutor who handles PTI domestic violence applications, before deciding not to object to Rice's PTI bid.

Mo'Nique just joined an even smaller club than than the Academy Award winners group she already belongs to ... people who want to give Ray Rice a second chance.

The "Precious" star was on "Good Day L.A." on FOX 11 this week and when asked about the Rice situation, showed a tidal wave of support for Rice -- more than any other big star has so far.

"A lot of people are saying get rid of him ... in our worst moments we would want empathy."

Toni Braxton says she believes in "standing by your man" ... but when it comes to Ray Rice, it's clear the singer thinks Janay Palmer should make an exception.

Toni and her sister Towanda were leaving Mr. Chow in Bev Hills last night when she told us how she sympathizes for Janay for having to deal with her situation in the public eye ... but strongly implies that she should leave her NFL husband.

Ronda Rousey says ... the Ray Rice story would've had a MUCH, MUCH different ending if she was in the elevator with the NFL star.

The UFC champ was at LAX Thursday when she was asked what would have happened if she was in Janay Palmer's shoes on that fateful night in an Atlantic City casino.

Ronda's answer -- well, ya gotta watch the video.

One major NFL sponsor tells TMZ Sports ... they are "frustrated" with Roger Goodell -- and will keep a close eye on the investigation to determine whether or not to end its relationship with the NFL.

A key member of the company -- who would not let us use his or his company's name, but trust us ... it's as big as it gets -- tells us, "It's one thing after another [with Goodell]" ... noting the company is particularly "frustrated" with Goodell's "inconsistent policies."

We're told the company has had several internal meetings to discuss its relationship with the league -- but it's NOT at the point of pulling money right now.

"We're concerned with the unknown right now. Where is [the Goodell saga] going next?"

CBS has pulled the plug on the musical opening of tonight's "Thursday Night Football" -- and it's very clear it's because they don't want to feature Rihanna in the midst of the Ray Rice scandal.

The opening features Rihanna performing a version of "Run This Town" -- while Don Cheadle introduces the teams and dramatically asks who will "run this town" when the game is over.

But with the Ray Rice scandal in full swing, it's clear CBS didn't want to feature another celebrity who was involved in a high-profile domestic violence incident.

CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus says, "We thought journalistically and from a tone standpoint, we needed to have the appropriate tone coverage."

The musical opening will be replaced by a discussion of Roger Goodell's recent comments about the Ray Rice incident.

NFL officials belatedly contacted the Revel Casino Wednesday ... attempting to find out if someone sent the Ray Rice elevator attack video to a League official back in April.

We're told the NFL is trying to find who was in a position to send a video to the League.

Sources familiar with the internal investigation tell TMZ ... the NFL was told casino employees burned 3 DVDs for distribution shortly after the incident. One DVD was burned for the Risk Management department at the Casino.

A second DVD was burned for Casino Security Investigations. We're told this DVD was supposed to be forwarded to local police.

As for the third DVD ... it's curious. We're told it went to a state law enforcement agency. Our sources would not reveal which agency or why the State of New Jersey was involved.

Our sources say just before the casino closed down ... the original version -- not the dub -- was sent over to Risk Management so it could be secured. We're told the risk manager who had received the first copy had left the casino, so her replacement received the original. We do not know if the replacement ever got the dub her predecessor received.

Janay Rice is making a HUGE mistake by staying with her husband after the elevator attack -- so says the host of VH1's "Couples Therapy."

We spoke with Dr. Jenn Berman -- who says she has an extensive background in domestic violence cases -- and she tells us she was particularly horrified by the Ray Rice footage.

Berman also says while it's good that Ray and Janay seek help -- it's important that they each have SEPARATE counseling sessions .. so that Janay can be open and honest without fear.

Hines Ward says he's blown away by Roger Goodell -- telling TMZ Sports he's SHOCKED that with all of the NFL's resources, the Commish says he couldn't get his hands on the elevator tape.

"When you're the NFL and you've got a bunch of FBI [agents], I'm pretty sure they could have got their hands on that tape before they made a ruling."

The former Pittsburgh Steelers superstar -- who's now an NFL commentator on NBC -- says Goodell MUST be held responsible for embarrassing the league ... noting, "He dropped the ball on this one."

10:47 AM PT -- Larry Bird (President of the Pacers) just ripped George over the comments ... saying, "Paul George's tweets from earlier were thoughtless and without regard to the subject of domestic violence and its seriousness in society."

Paul George's leg must be okay ... 'cause he's backpedaling HARD after tweeting out some STUPID comments about the Ray Rice situation.

The Indiana Pacers star came under fire IMMEDIATELY after writing, "I don't condone hittin women or think it's coo BUT if SHE ain't trippin then I ain't trippin.. Lets keep it movin lol let that man play!"

Stupid.

Then it got worse ... with George writing, "If you in a relationship and a woman hit you first and attacking YOU.. Then you obviously ain't beatin HER. Homie made A bad choice! #StayUp"

Were you even watching the same tape?? It wasn't exactly self defense, dude.

Didn't take long for George to realize he screwed up -- and less than an hour later, tweeted, "Let me apologize to the women and to the VICTIMS of domestic violence people my intent was not to downplay the situation."

Ray Rice says hard liquor was the fuel that triggered his elevator rage and he hasn't touched the stuff in months ... sources close to Rice tell TMZ Sports.

Rice told the Baltimore Ravens he and Janay Palmer had been drinking HEAVILY before the altercation. Rice is telling friends he becomes a different person when he boozes it up ... so he's changed his life.

But he hasn't changed that much, because we're told he still drinks wine ... just not hard liquor.

Our sources say Ray and his wife have gotten deep into religion since the February incident -- they were both baptized in March when they decided to become Born again Christians.

We're also told they've also done religious mentoring with other couples ... including NFL players and their wives.

The NFL has appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to run an investigation into how the league handled evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence case.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Mueller's probe will be overseen by Giants owner John Mara and Steelers owner Art Rooney. Goodell says Mueller will have access to all NFL records.

The announcement came hours after a league source told us ... "no one" at the NFL's various offices had received the video of Ray Rice punching his wife -- refuting an AP story that said a league exec was sent the clip back in April.