Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

NFL Never Asked For Elevator Video; Another Hawks Executive Accused of Making Racist Remarks; Boehner Comments On ISIS Strategy

Aired September 09, 2014 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So I wish I had more time to talk with you, but I can't wait to read the book and thank you. It's fascinating. Thank you so much, Russell Edwards. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. There's a new bombshell in the Ray Rice case. TMZ is reporting the NFL never asked an Atlantic City casino for this video showing race punching his then fiance in an elevator.

Sources told TMZ the casino would have handed over the video had the NFL just asked. Ray Rice, as you know, is out of football, at least for now. The Baltimore Ravens cut him yesterday. A short time later, the NFL suspended him indefinitely and this just in this morning.

We're hearing the first comments from Rice's wife, Janay since the league punishment came down. She posted a statement on Instagram calling the situation a nightmare and saying, quote, "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."

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 CNN's "UNGUARDED." First your reaction to the Janay Rice Instagram message.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN HOST, "UNGUARDED": It's important to say that Janay Rice has the right to be heard. What she thinks and says, we all have to respect that. And that she is correct that watching this video over and over again, which she also said in her statement, has forced her to relive this awful day and that is something to take into account.

However, we do see this with victims of domestic abuse over and over again in a way that is just so different from other crimes. If someone comes and breaks into your house, you don't defend the robber.

And it's because you have a complex relationship with the person who is abusing you, they have a child together. She's in love with this man. You've spoken about your personal experiences.

It's hard, it's 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. COSTELLO: OK, so let's 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 that could happen?

NICHOLS: I don't see that happening. Look, we've all seen situations that start small, a break-in at a hotel in Washington, D.C. that end up with the president of the United States resigning so you never know.

But I don't see the 32 owners in the NFL who are the only ones who have the power to make that decision telling Roger Goodell to step down. He's 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 doesn't seem to be hurting the product or the bottom line. And you have to think that 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 they've started to do, but stop being so reactive. Anybody can tell someone on their team or that they do business with "we don't want you around anymore" or "if you've been brought into jail for beating up your girlfriend, that is enough for us."

If you've just been arrested and charged, that's enough for us to say take a seat, we don't want you playing for the team right now." Teams around the NFL can do it, Roger Goodell can 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, that's what people are demanding right now and that's the next step Roger Goodell is going to have to take if he wants to quiet this storm.

COSTELLO: I want to bring in Leigh Stenberg right now. He is a sports agent, a famous sports agent, right? He knows his way around football. What do you make of this controversy? Will anything really 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?

LEIGH STENBURG, SPORTS AGENT/SPORTS ATTORNEY: I think it's 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 hope will 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 don't hit women." So if the NFL were to switch, you see, this is not just a women's issue, it can be a male issue. We all have mothers and sisters and wives and daughters.

And we have a responsibility as men so if you've got big tough football players actually spreading the message, they can have a real impact on young people so --

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Absolutely.

STENBURG: Domestic violence for too long swept under the rug.

COSTELLO: Let me ask you a question about Ray Rice. He's only 27 years old. He's still a pretty good player. He's 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?

STENBERG: 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 he's 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 he'll come back and play again. Michael Vick is playing in the National Football League. So there's 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 2-1 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, it's 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 don't have one now. But it shouldn't 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.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. It just boggles my mind it wasn't. Rachel Nichols, I want you to add a little bit to this. There are other players that have been accused of terrible things, they're still playing. Some of them are beloved, right?

NICHOLS: Absolutely. And I want to tell your viewers if you are upset about Ray Rice, I want you to remember two names, Greg Hardy and Ray McDonald. Those guys are both playing with the NFL right now. Hardy is with the Panthers, McDonald with the 49ers.

They're 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 he's 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, 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 it's 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 don't see in the front of you doesn't mean it's 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.

COSTELLO: Rachel Nichols, thank you so much. Leigh Stenberg, thank you. You can watch "UNGUARDED" with Rachel Nichols right here on CNN. So let's take a breath, domestic violence is 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 op-ed 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. Let's just say it was not a good idea. So "Fox and Friends," to put it bluntly, shut up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After that video, now you know what happened in there, she still married him. They are currently married.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rihanna went back to Chris Brown right after. A lot of people thought that was a terrible message.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then there's Jay-Z and Beyonce and Solange. That was also in an elevator.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Jay-Z didn't hit back. The message is take the stairs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The message is when you're in an elevator, there's a camera.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Ha, ha, ha. CNN media guru, Brian Stelter, is here. I was not the only person upset with my friends at Fox.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: No. Far from it, Carol. To say "take the stairs," implies that that's 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. Here's the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: 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 weren't taking it seriously." It's 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 can't tell you I'm particularly surprised by it.

COSTELLO: Brian Stelter, thanks so much, I appreciate it.

Later I'll 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 he's making his case to Congress and then to Congress and then to the American people. Jim Acosta is live at the White House this morning. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, that's right. A new CNN/ORC poll finds the public is alarmed by the terror threat posed by ISIS. We'll break down the numbers in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: 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 ISIS threat is on the minds of most Americans.

A new CNN/ORC poll say 45 percent say ISIS poses a very serious threat to the United States. Senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, joins me now with more. Good morning, Jim.

ACOSTA: Good morning, Carol. That's right. As you just said, a strategy a few weeks ago the president said he didn't 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 leadership 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 percent, oppose 24 percent. That's 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 percent, opposed 61 percent.

And does President Obama have a clear plan for dealing with ISIS as you heard the president say a couple weeks ago, he doesn't have a strategy for ISIS in Syria. That's 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 they'll go to Congress and ask for an authorization vote and Peter King indicated to our CNN's Chris Cuomo that if that vote were given to the Congress, it's not clear what they would do. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: 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 commander-in-chief, 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 the first day, I have no problem. If this goes bad, I'm taking responsibility so I'm 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 don't want him to wait until Congress acts because I don't have full faith in Congress myself, to be honest with you.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ACOSTA: A moment of candor there from Republican Congressman Peter King. He's not exactly sure what Congress would do with this Caroline. I think that's why you're 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. They're talking about giving Congress a buy-in.

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 I've talked to this morning say no decisions to announce yet on that front just yet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: 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. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you agree ground troops should be an option?

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: What I'm hoping to hear from the president today is a strategy that goes after ISIS and destroys them. I've 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 there's a strategy, there's no reason to talk about any of the specifics because I don't know how they fit in to the broader strategy. So I'm hopeful today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not opposed to ground troops today? That's an option?

BOEHNER: I am looking for a strategy for from the president that takes on this terrorist threat and defeats it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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?

BOEHNER: It's not a key question because we don't know what the strategy is. Until the president outlines a strategy to deal with this serious threat, I don't know what's going to be involved. Nobody knows --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's assume --

BOEHNER: Let's not assume.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The deeper government? This (inaudible question).

BOEHNER: When the president outlines a strategy for how we're going to deal with this terrorist threat, then we can begin to ask these questions and I'm hopeful we'll have this opportunity to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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 it's important for Congress to take a vote on some type of bill that discusses the actions going forward. Do you agree with that?

BOEHNER: When I hear what the president these say, we'll make decisions about going forward. Until we know what the strategy is, we don't know what's going to be involved. So it's critically important we take these in some organized steps and the first step what's the plan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Speaker Boehner, in the instance of Obamacare you thought it was important to include Congress. Isn't it important for Congress to be included in this?

BOEHNER: Is that what we're talking about? Until the president outlines what it is --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I think we get the message. Let's step away from the weekly briefing from House Speaker John Boehner who is obviously awaiting to hear the president's strategy before he begins talking about his own strategy or Congress's strategy to defeat ISIS.

OK, so we'll wait. Let's talk about the economy now, OK? Yes, we must, because it's the season for yummy baked goods and the extra cheese pizzas on football Sunday. But this year those treats may be a lot more expensive thanks to an unexpected rise in dairy cost. Christine Romans is here to tell us about that.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is an important economic indicator because when you have your football pizza you may notice this. Dairy prices have been rising here, milk prices at record highs, milk futures at record highs and milk prices going up as well.

When you look at a gallon of milk -- I almost said gas. I'm so used to talking about gas as an economic indicator, but milk, the price is really high. Chicken, steak, hamburger all about 10 percent in the last year.

A lot of these commodities have been going up, but milk in particular because we are the world's big dairy producer. We are exporting a lot of it. As other economies around the world grow middle-classes, they want to eat western diets.

And Western diets includes milk and cheese and the like, so that's one of the reasons you are seeing it move up so high.

COSTELLO: Really?

ROMANS: Isn't that interesting?

COSTELLO: You would think that would help farmers --

ROMANS: And people with small kids, people who try to get organic milk or milk without any additives or anything, those are $5, $6 a gallon. It's interesting. The farmers are saying they're enjoying good margins because their feed costs haven't been going up as quickly as their product has.

But I think it becomes a self-fulfilling thing after a while where if they start to make so much money on their milk they keep bigger herds so that keeps a lid on rising milk prices.

COSTELLO: Christine Romans, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the controversy surrounding a racially charged e-mail sent by Atlanta Hawks owner, Bruce Levenson is far from over. Now another team executive is in hot water for, quote, "insensitive remarks." George Howell is live with more. Good morning.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. If you hadn't had enough of those insensitive comments from Hawks management, we have the second part for you. More insensitive comments. We'll have the details live from Atlanta as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The controversy surrounding racially charged e-mails sent by Atlanta Hawks owner, Bruce Levenson is getting worse for the franchise. Another executive has been accused of making racist remarks about one of the team's former stars. CNN's George Howell is here with more on that. George, good morning.

HOWELL: Carol, good morning. This is sort of a triangle so follow this with me if you can. We've all read that e-mail from Bruce Levenson saying that the Hawks Phillips arena is too black and that would scare away southern white fans.

Well, that letter came to light because of an internal investigation into the Hawks and to documents and e-mails basically from another owner, a co-owner, Michael Guerin, who basically sent a letter to Levenson demanding that the GM and president of basketball operations, his name is Danny Ferry, that he be fired for comments that he allegedly made about a free agent, Lowell Deng.

This letter was obtained by CNN affiliate WSBTV here in Atlanta and CNN has been able to confirm with the Hawks the authenticity of the letter. In the letter, Guerin says that Ferry made the following comments about Deng who, again was a prospective player.

Quote, "That he has a little African in him. Not in a bad way but he's a guy who would have a nice store out front, but sell you counterfeit stuff in the back." So those comments, obviously, insensitive, offensive, but we did get this response from Danny Ferry basically apologizing for the statement.

And also saying that he was simply, quote, "repeating statements that others made to him." We learned from the team's CEO, Steve Koonin, that a severe punishment has been levied against Ferry, but we don't know what that is. The organization is keeping it private, saying it's a private matter. So it's caused a lot of outrage in the community and certainly Hawks fans around the country. Here's what Atlanta's mayor, Kasim Reid, had to say all of it. Listen.