Embattled former NFL player Ray Rice will reportedly argue that TMZ edited the now-infamous video of him knocking out Janay Palmer in an elevator.
What he's claiming likely amounts to nothing but mere semantics, however.
ESPN claims Rice will protest that a cleaned-up, whittled down and condensed version of the events that took place in the Atlantic City casino was leaked.
The only problem is that while Rice is technically right, he's also wrong.
The tape was indeed heavily edited for clarity, and this was noted by TMZ in its original post ... which also contained the raw video as source material.
Essentially, there are Ray Rice video "highlights" and the full version.
Not to mention, by crying foul over the editing, Rice is indirectly stating that there were circumstances that provoked him to knock out his then-fiancee.
The implication is that the NFL didn't take the context of the right into account in its indefinite suspension of the player, whom the Baltimore Ravens also cut.
The fact that Rice threw a punch hard enough to knock Janay Palmer out cold, after which he dragged her body through the hotel, is not in dispute.
That's not enough to warrant a suspension? To Rice, apparently not.
For its part, TMZ says the original raw video was, well, pretty raw.
It would move forward and then in reverse every few frames, so it was cleaned up for easier viewing, while the unedited version was also provided.
Rice's lawyers can't scroll down or follow links apparently.
