Yesterday. A short time later the nfl suspended him indefinitely and this just in this morning. Were hearing the first comments from rices wife janay since the league punishment came down. She posted a statement on instagram calling the situation a nightmare and saying to take something away from the man i love that he has worked his ass off for all his just to gain ratings is horrific. Cnn is covering the fallout over the release of the ray rice elevator video extensively. Our reporters and guests are following every angle of this story but first we want to bring in Rachel Nichols, host of cnns unguarded. First your reaction to the instagram message. Its important to say that january nay rice has the right to be heard. What she thinks and says, we have to respect that. Ay rice ha heard. What she thinks and says, we have to respect that. She is correct that watching this video over and over, as she said in her statement, has forced her to relive this day and we have to take that into account. Of course we have seen this from Domestic Violence victims over and over again. If someone breaks in your house you dont defend the robber. But because you have a complex relationship with the person who is abusing you, they have a child together, shes in love with this man. Youve spoken about your personal experiences. Its hard, its difficult and important for all of us from the outside commenting to remember that and hope that anyone in her position feels like they can get help. So lets concentrate on the nfl right now. So rice is suspended indefinitely. There are growing calls for Roger Goodell, the commissioner, to step aside. How likely is it that could happen . I dont see that happening. Weve all seen situations that start small, a breakin at a hotel in washington, d. C. That end up with the president of the United States resigning so you never know. But i dont see 32 owners in the nfl who are the only ones who have the power to make that decision telling Roger Goodell to step down. Hes made them a lot of money over the years. He makes a lot of Smart Business decisions. The league, the ratings were great last night for monday night football yet again so it doesnt seem to be hurting the producttor bottom line. And you have to think they are going to try to figure out a way to weather this storm. I think what a lot of people would like to see is the nfl not only craft a stronger policy, which theyve started to do, but stop being so reactive. Anybody can tell someone on their team or that they do business with we dont want you around anymore. Or hey, if youve been brought into jail for beating up your girlfriend, that is enough for us. If youve just been arrested and charged, thats enough for us to say take a seat, we dont want you playing for the team right now. Teams around the nfl can do it, Roger Goodell and k do it and seeing stronger leaders on this issue going to the hotel and asking for the tape, not just waiting for someone to give it to them, thats what people are demanding right now and thats the next step goodell will have to take if he wants to quiet this storm. I want to bring in lee steinberg, a famous sports agent. He knows his way around football. What do you make of this controversy . Will anything come of it or will we talk about it for a while and be angry about it for a while and then it will fade away . I think its important to note that had the tmz tape not come out yesterday the Baltimore Ravens were ready to activate ray rice on friday, he would have played in the next game, goodell would have done nothing more and this all would have been swept under the rug. It took a tabloid tape to make all of this reaction happen. What i lope happen is that Domestic Violence will be seen for what it is which is a horrific situation in society. And ironically, carol, the athletes can be the best role models against it. Years ago i had lenox lewis, the heavyweight champ, do a psa that said real men dont hit women. So if the nfl were to switch, you see, this is not just a womens issue, it can be a male issue. We all have mothers and sisters and wives and caught theers and we have a responsibility as men to so if youve got big tough Football Players actually spreading the message, they can have a real impact on young people. So absolutely. Absolutely. Domestic violence for too long swept under the rug. Let me ask you a question about ray rice. Hes only 27 years old. Hes still a pretty good player. Hes not going to play any more football this season, rachel informed me of that. What about next season . Is there a chance for him to be a Football Player again . Oh, i think so. History is replete with examples of athletes who have done something that is abhorrent, now watch what happens. If he goes ahead and has a clean slate, if he does what hes talked about, which is getting involved in the fight against Domestic Violence, you can hate the sin but not hate the sinner. America loves a comeback story. Rice had a clean record prior to this and hell come back and play again. Michael vick is playing in the National Football league. So theres redemption for him at the end of the line. I think that the positive in all this is that as societally broad an issue as Domestic Violence is, it brings it to the surface and the nfl by 21 is the biggest entertainment in this country. When you asked about goodell a second ago, remember that not all under his reign but jerry jones bought the Dallas Cowboys for 140 million in 1989, its now worth 3. 2 billion. So goodell has enriched owners through television and stadium and social media and every other form imaginable. Watch what happens now. I think they just had a tin ear to this issue and they obviously dont have one now. But it shouldnt have taken a tmz tape to get to this point because both the ravens and Roger Goodell said rice was completely transparent and walked them through step by step what happened. So they already knew he punched her in the face and that should have been enough. Absolutely. It just boggles my mind it wasnt. Rachel nichols, i want you to add a little bit to this. There are other players that have been accused of terrible things, theyre still playing. Some of them are beloved, right . Absolutely. And i want to tell your viewers if you are upset about ray rice, remember greg hardy and ray mcdonald. Those guys are both playing with the nfl right now, hardy with the panthers, mcdonald with the 49ers. Theyre both heavily involved in Domestic Violence cases. Hardy has actually been convicted i want to same that again. He has been convicted of Domestic Violence and instead has appealed for a jury trial so they are waiting for the jury trial. But hes still not been disciplined by the nfl. So when we talk about the nfl meeting to take more of a leadership role, not waiting around for things to happen, not just saying, hey, they never gave us the video so what are we going to do . The league has a responsibility to move forward on this issue and i think its important for whoever is so angry about this to advocate for that. Because there are other cases that might not have elevator video. And just because you dont see in the front of you doesnt mean its not just as bad. This is really important. And i think we need to push forward and to so many other women who are victims, other players, or people inside society. Rachel nirk coles, thank you so much, leigh steinberg, thank you. You can watch unguarded with Rachel Nichols right here on cnn. So lets take a breath, domestic vie slens a crime, ray rice was charged with aggravated assault. His fiance was not charged. Stop the victim blaming. Yes, victims of Domestic Violence often return to their abusers for many complicated reasons. I did briefly. In an oped i wrote for cnn. Com i talked about a boyfriend who knocked me out. I met up with that boyfriend again because he wanted to apologize. Lets just say it was not a good idea. So fox and friend, to put it bluntly, shut up. After that video, now you know what happened in there, she still married him. They are currently married. Rihanna went back to chris brown right after. A lot of people thought that was a terrible message. Then theres jayz and beyonce and solange. That was also in an elevator. But jayz didnt hit back. The message is take the stairs. The message is when youre in an elevator, theres a camera. Ha, ha, ha. Cnn media guru Brian Stelter is here. I was not the only person upset with my friends at fox. Far from it, carol. To say take the stairs, implies that thats a way to go and commit that kind of crime and do it secretly. That was horrible thing to say and fox actually came back this morning, those hosts briefly acknowledged some of the complaints but did not apologize. Heres the clip. Comments that we made during this story yesterday made some feel like we were taking the situation too lightly. We are not. We were not. Domestic abuse is a very serious issue to us, i can assure you. I wish that clip was longer. I wish i had more to show you, carol, but that was it. And notice what he said there, it made some people feel like we werent taking it seriously. Its a cheap try pretend to apologize but then again, fox news tends not to come out and apologize when their hosts say offensive things. This is kind of how the network operates so i cant tell you im particularly surprised by it. Brian stelter, thanks so much, i appreciate it. Later ill talk live with senator Richard Blumenthal. The connecticut democrat is calling out the nfl over the controversy. He wants maybe congress to intervene. Also to come, president obama has a plan to eliminate isis. Now hes making his case to congress and then to the American People. Jim acosta is live at the white house this morning. Good morning, jim. Good morning, carol, thats right. A new cnn orc poll finds the pub slick alarmed by the Terror Threat posed by isis. Well break down the numbers in just a few moments. Hoo, hoo, hoo oohh, you got it i love the looks of it. [garage door closing] nobody touches my dodge dart, jake johnson. Not even your best friend slash neighbor . No one. I can still get in craig. Id like to see you try. All id have to do is roll in, dude. Lets see it. I choose not to right now. Come on indiana. Craig, craig, craig. [in a british accent] is someone out there . Dont do that accent on me dont touch my dart can this decadent, fruittop pastry with indulgent streusel crumbles be from. Fiber one . 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Com president obama has some selling to do before briefing the American Public on his strategy to defeat isis. The president will meet with some of his toughest critics, that would be members of congress. This afternoon, mr. Obama will strategize with top congressional leaders at the white house before he outlines his strategy to the nation tomorrow. The threat is on the minds of most americans. A new cnn orc poll say 45 say isis poses a very serious threat to the United States. Jim acosta joins me now with more. Good morning, jim. Thats right, carol. As you just said, a strategy a few weeks ago the president said he didnt have a strategy for dealing with isis in syria. That really ratcheted up a lot of the criticism on capitol hill and the president will be meeting with senior congressional leaders at the white house later today to go over that strategy. I want to tell you Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell was on the floor of the senate saying he wants to hear the president s strategy at the meeting saying the threat from isis is real and growing and time for president obama to exercise some leadershleader ship in launching a response. So congressional leaders are anxious to hear the president s plans but, carol, you said that the president may have to do some selling to the American People. He may not have to do a lot of selling because judging by this latest cnn orc poll, the American People seem to be behind some sort of muscular response in going after isis. I just want to throw a few numbers up on screen from there this poll. U. S. Air strikes against isis in syria favor 75 , oppose 24 . Thats a significant majority of americans. Three quarters of americans there. But americans do not want Ground Troops in syria or iraq. That number very different. You can almost flip that number upside down. In favor of that, 38 , opposed 61 . And does president obama have a clear plan for dealing with isis as you heard the president say a couple weeks ago, he doesnt have a strategy for isis in syria. Thats translating into these numbers here. The president according to this poll does not have a clear plan for dealing with isis in syria. Earlier this morning republican congressman peter king was asked about, well, what will Congress Want to weigh in on this. The white house has been sort of vague as to whether or not theyll go to congress and ask for an authorization vote and peter king indicated to our Cnns Chris Cuomo that if that vote were given to the congress, its not clear what they would do. Heres what he had to say. I fully support the president taking action. If it comes to a vote, i will vote for it. I think what should be done, quite frankly, is the president has the power as commanderinchief, the president take the action and congress can vote retroactively. If we wait for congress to debate this over the next few weeks, i will vote yes for t first day, i have no problem. If this goes bad, im taking responsibility so im not trying to duck anything here. But this is so imminent, this is so critical, you want the president to take the action and then i think congress should pass legislation supporting what the president does. But i dont want him to wait until Congress Acts because i dont have full faith in congress myself, to be honest with you. A moment of candor there from republican congressman peter king. Hes not exactly sure what congress would do with this caroline. I think thats why youre seeing caution on the part of the white house in terms of wanting to give that vote to members of congress to authorize air strikes. Theyre talking about giving congress a buyin. That may pertain to perhaps a vote on authorizing funds for an expanded air strike into syria and expanded air strikes in iraq on isis but perhaps not an authorization vote. But the white house officials ive talked to this morning say no decisions to announce yet on that front just yet, carol. Jim acosta reporting live from white house. Just moments ago House Speaker john boehner, a republican in his Weekly Briefing, the first Weekly Briefing after congress returned from summer vacation, talked about a strategy to defeat isis. Lets listen. Reporter do you agree Ground Troops should be an option . What im hoping to hear from the president today is a strategy that goes after isis and destroys them. Ive been calling for a strategy to deal with the growing terrorist threat since january. Now, when isis came across the border in western iraq. We have a very serious problem. What we need is a strategy. And until theres a strategy theres no reason to talk about any of the specifics because i dont know how they fit in to the broader strategy. So im hopeful today. Reporter youre not opposed to Ground Troops today . Thats an option . I am looking for a strategy for from the president that takes on this terrorist threat and defeats it. Reporter mr. Speaker, is there a consensus among your caucus about whether or not the president has to come before congress to get authorization. Is that a key question . Its not a key question because we dont know what the strategy is. Until the president outlines a strategy to deal with this serious threat, i dont know whats going to be involved. Nobody knows reporter lets assume lets not assume. Reporter the deeper government . This [ inaudible question ] when the president outlines a strategy for how were going to deal with this terrorist threat, then we can begin to ask these questions and im hopeful well have this opportunity to do it. Reporter several of your members, speaker boehner, say they are mindful of how worried people are about isis. And even though they think the president already has the authority to strike, they think its important for congress to take a vote on some type of bill that discusses the actions going forward. Do you agree with that . When i hear what the president these say, well make decisions about going forward. Until we know what the strategy is, we dont know whats going to be involved so its critically important we take these in some organized steps and the first step whats the plan. Reporter but speaker boehner, in the instance of obamacare you thought it was important to include congress. Isnt it important for congress to be included in this. Is that what were talking about . Until the president outli