You Might Want to Rethink

The NFL NEVER contacted the casino to request video of Ray Rice brutalizing his fiancee ... TMZ Sports has learned. Commissioner Roger Goodell made his disciplinary decision in the dark, which raises the question ... Is that the way he wanted it?

Sources connected with the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City tell TMZ Sports ... NO ONE from the NFL ever asked for the video inside the elevator ... video that was compelling enough to get Rice instantly fired.

Sources who worked at the casino at the time of the incident tell us ... if the NFL had asked for the video, they would have gladly complied. Former employees have told us someone with an affiliation to the NFL saw the video, but we are now certain that someone was not from Goodell's office or the core NFL executives.

Without video ... Goodell blindly justified the initial 2-game suspension, based on the only evidence they had -- from the two people in the elevator, who called it mutual combat.

Multiple sources tell TMZ Sports ... the casino made a copy of the elevator surveillance video for police. We're also told Rice's lawyer had a copy of the video, which he got in the criminal case.

An NFL source tells us they requested "any and all information" from law enforcement in the criminal case but got nothing because it was a pending case. But the NFL had other options ... namely going to the casino or Rice's lawyer -- but the NFL never bothered to ask.

BTW ... it may sound crazy for Rice's lawyer to voluntarily hand over the video, but the NFL had a lot of leverage ... in the form of severe penalties if Rice didn't ante up the tape.

So the question ... does the NFL have incompetent investigators, or was it just easier to protect a player and turn a blind eye to video that would have forced Goodell's hand? Both scenarios are pretty disgusting.

Janay Palmer is finally breaking her silence about the video showing Ray Rice beating the crap out of her in a hotel elevator -- defending Ray and blaming the media.

In a post from her Instagram page Tuesday morning, and verified by the Baltimore Sun, Janay Palmer writes, "I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself."

She continued, "No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day 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."

Tyrese Gibson owes more than $83K to a woman who claims he ruined her life after she wrote a book about his mom ... but Tyrese says the author is the one who's guilty of taking advantage of his mother.

Cynthia Banks claims she befriended Tyrese's mom Priscilla a few years back ... and agreed to write a book about Priscilla's 27-year struggle with alcoholism. Banks says the Gibson children cooperated with her on the book -- except Tyrese, who publicly trashed the author and ruined her reputation.

Banks filed a lawsuit against him in Texas, where she lived ... but when he failed to respond to the suit, a judge awarded her $75K.

Banks says Tyrese never paid -- so now she's coming after him in California. She's asking an L.A. judge to order him to fork over the money, which has ballooned to $83K due to interest charges.

Tyrese says he had no idea Banks had filed a lawsuit against him, but claims she "bamboozled" his mother at a low point in her life. He told us, "I did what I had to do to protect my mother from this woman who took advantage of her while she was in rehab."

"Fantasy Factory" star Big Black says people need to stop bashing Ray Rice for violently punching his fiance Janay Palmer in the face ... claiming if she forgave him, everyone else should too.

Christopher Boykin -- aka Big Black -- launched his defense of Rice in response to ESPN's Michelle Beadle ... who's been blasting Rice and the NFL ever since we published the video this morning.

Boykin tweeted to Beadle, "She married him move on" ... adding, "Had she hired Mayweather's ex attorney & stood her ground this would be news but she didn't she supported & married him."

Beadle fired back saying, "Sadly, yes she did. And her reasons are probably sound in her mind. Probably used to it. Doesn't matter to me though. Criminal."

The NFL tells TMZ Sports ... league officials did NOT see the new Ray Rice elevator footage posted on TMZ Sports before it meted out a 2 game suspension.

A league spokesperson tells us ... "We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator. That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today."

We do not know if the NFL will seek to re-open it's investigation of the incident.

Don't get your hopes up -- a new Kim Kardashian sex tape featuring Kanye West will never see the light of day because ... it just doesn't exist.

Sources close to the couple say Kim was purposely being coy during her recent British GQ interview ... where she hinted about doing a sex tape sequel -- this time with Yeezus.

Kim told the mag, "My husband Kanye and I have an amazing sex life. So far as the sex tape is concerned, whether or not we've made another ... If we have, it's never something I want to go public."

We're told what really happened is that Kim didn't wanna talk about her sex life because she's super private about that -- and instead of just shutting down the interviewer ... she decided to playfully tease.

A famous photographer got the shaft from Rod Stewart when he used a cheap copy of her iconic photo to promote his concerts in Vegas ... and now she wants a few million bucks.

Bonnie Schiffman says she owns the rights to the photo of the back of Rod's signature bouffant hairdo -- which was the cover of his 1989 box set, "Storyteller."

In her lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Schiffman says Stewart wanted to license the pic again in 2010 for a comeback tour called "Rod's Back." She claims she was offered a measly $1,500 -- which she flat-out rejected.

The photog claims Stewart simply sidestepped her by imitating the pose from her pic -- slapping it on billboards, ads, and tickets to promote his 2013 shows at Caesars Palace in Vegas.

She's now suing Stewart and Caesars for $5M -- mininum.

A college Athletic Director has resigned after he was caught talking about a player's mom's giant boobs on a hot microphone.

Oops.

The dude behind the gaffe is Chris Peterson from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock -- who went off about a female soccer player's mother's jumblies during a game back in August.

"Remember her mom was here a few years ago? Member her Pete? She had her sh*t hanging out too, remember that?"

He went on ... "We gotta make sure we know when Parents Day is ... I'm gonna make sure I'm in town for the weekend. We might have to have a function. I might have to call a function for her."

L.A. Clippers star Matt Barnes admits ... he's not proud of all of his tattoos -- in fact, Barnes says there's one piece of ink he hated so much, he HAD to go out and cover it up.

Barnes was out at Kitson in L.A. Wednesday to support teammate DeAndre Jordan when he told us about the regrettable work he got on his arm back when he was a teenager ... and why he had to make it go away.

The woman who survived the real-life killing spree of the "Happy Face Killer" is suing Lifetime ... claiming she was wrongfully portrayed as a prostitute in the made-for-TV movie ... TMZ has learned.

In her suit, Daun Slagle says she was definitely NOT a hooker when Keith Jesperson brutally assaulted her in 1990 ... yet she was portrayed as a prostitute named Candy who voluntarily performs oral sex on the serial killer in front of her infant child.

Slagle also says the Lifetime movie -- which aired back in March -- left viewers "with the sense that [she] somewhat provoked and/or deserved the attack due to her low character, criminal behavior and taunting of Jesperson, creating a certain sympathy for the killer."

Slagle says the portrayal is "false, egregious and disgusting."

FYI -- Jesperson -- who killed at least 8 women in a 5 year span -- was deemed the "Happy Face Killer" because he used to taunt journalists and law enforcement with letters which he often signed with a happy face.

Justin Bieber's arrest in Canada for allegedly fighting with a pap following an ATV accident could mean it's time for Justin to do some serious thinking -- about which gang he's gonna join behind bars!

It's never too early to start planning. Y'know ... just in case.

"Sleepy Hollow" is issuing a major mea culpa for the show's #HeadlessDay promotion ... which happened to launch on the same day a 2nd U.S. journalist was beheaded by ISIS militants in Iraq.

The show is promoting its Season 1 DVD release with a series of memes cracking headless jokes as a nod to the main character ... the Headless Horseman. The memes all have the line, "Happy Headless Day from Sleepy Hollow."

Of course, the people behind the PR campaign couldn't have predicted the terrorists would release horrifying video of another execution.

The marketing agency that created the campaign says, "We apologize for the unfortunate timing of our Sleepy Hollow Headless Day announcement. The tragic news of Steven Sotloff's death hit the web as the email was being sent. Our deepest sympathies are with him and his family, and we don't take the news lightly."

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment also sent condolences to the family and added ... "We regret the unfortunate timing" of the promotion and the announcement.

Justin Bieber is in the crosshairs of the L.A. County Probation Dept ... because his Canadian arrest just set in motion a chain reaction that could land him behind bars.

Law enforcement sources tell us an investigation has been launched to determine if Justin's arrest for dangerous driving and assault constitutes a violation. We're told officials will contact law enforcement in Canada to verify the details of the incident.

Justin is currently on 2 years probation after pleading to misdemeanor vandalism in the egging case back in July.

Cops in Canada say Bieber got into a physical altercation with a paparazzo after his ATV collided with the photog's minivan.

Justin Bieber got arrested in Canada after crashing his ATV into a minivan driven by paparazzi ... TMZ has learned -- and he now faces charges of dangerous driving and assault.

Bieber was taken into custody Friday afternoon in Perth County, Ontario. Police say there was a physical altercation between Justin and a paparazzo in the minivan ... after they had the collision.

Justin was photographed riding the ATV with Selena Gomez Friday in Ontario near his father's home.

Police say Justin was released and will have to appear in court later this month.

He could have a bigger problem on his hands though -- Justin is on probation for 2 years after the egging case in L.A. So, it's possible this arrest could trigger a violation.

Justin's attorney says Justin and Selena are fully cooperating with the police investigation.

RZA takes a very practical approach to the celebrity nude photo scandal ... hackers can't steal what does not exist.

Our photog spotted the Wu-Tang legend at LAX Monday ... when we asked him about the scandal that has affected dozens of celebs like Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, and Ariana Grande

RZA says he's even discussed it with his wife -- you gotta hear him describe their "no nude photos" policy.

Britney Spears spent more than $30,000 on dogs -- the ones not named David Lucado -- and let's just say, her puppies are living the life most humans would envy.

According to new legal docs filed in her conservatorship ... Britney bought 2 tiny pups in 2013 that came with enormous price tags -- more than $13K for both of them!

She dropped $5,568 for what looks like a white Maltese in January ... and then in July she spent another $8,212 for its playmate -- a new Yorkie.

Brit even spent $1,585 on CLOTHES for the dogs ($650 in one shopping spree alone)! Throw in another $5,205 on dog-sitting, plus more common pet expenses (like food) -- in all she laid out $31,234.15. Just for the dogs.

FUN FACT: The average teacher's starting salary is about $36,000.