Ray Rice Family Defends NFL Star After Abuse Video Goes Viral: Former Baltimore Raven's Running Back Side Of Story Revealed

Former NFL athlete Ray Rice's family is speaking out about the raw video released showing the former Baltimore Raven's running back punching his wife, Janay Palmer in the face, and say that he is not the vicious man he has been portrayed as.

According to MediaTakeOut.com family source, the disgraced athlete's family is standing by him and trying to help him clear his name, "Ray has NEVER laid a hand on Janay, except on that night. Not BEFORE or AFTER. He made a terrible mistake and he's willing to accept responsibility for his actions. But please tell people that it was a terrible mistake and that he is not an abuser."

The source revealed what exactly happened prior to the elevator incident, "Here is what happened and it is the God's honest truth. Janay was drinking and she started acting out. Ray kept his cool, even though she was hitting him in the face and body. But in the elevator, she spit right in his face and he reacted without thinking. He did NOT punch her, he slapped her and her head hit the wall. I'm not trying to make light of it, what Ray did was wrong. But it was a reflex - not something he thought about and then did."

The NFL star's world crumbled when raw footage of their elevator fight hit the web prompting the NFL organization to ban him from the NFL. February 15, the couple got into an altercation in a Revel Hotel elevator in Atlantic City where the Baltimore Ravens punched his fiancé in the face knocking her out cold.

The Baltimore Ravens franchise tweeted Monday, "The #Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice's contract this afternoon."

The NFL said Monday, "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."

In the clip, the elevator door closes and Ray shoves Janay, in which Janay strikes back while walking into a close fist to the face- knocking her out. As the door opens, the football star tries to bring Janay back to consciousness and drags her out of the elevator.