It's easy to second-guess TMZ when it comes to news.
But the Associated Press? The longstanding news outlet won't just run with anything. And this afternoon, they dropped a news nugget that won't make the NFL happy in the least bit.
BREAKING: AP Source: Law enforcement official sent copy of Ray Rice tape to NFL executive in April
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 10, 2014
Assuming the AP is about to write a full story on this, there should be some examples of how the NFL allegedly obtained the tape showing Ray Rice knocking Janay Rice out in an elevator. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has stated on more than one occasion that he and the league did not see the video until it was released to the public by TMZ on Monday.
The Rice and the Ravens part of this story is over, at least for the most part. Of course, Ravens officials finally spoke on the record on Thursday, granting The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec an interview to talk about the long process involving Rice since February.
But this is becoming even bigger. If the NFL conspired to cover this up, this has major implications for the league. You'd almost certainly be looking at a complete overhaul of what's in place. Is this the first stepping stone to that? Who knows, to be honest.
But what we do know is this is far from over.