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Baltimore Ravens Terminates Ray Rice Contract; State Department Counter-Messaging ISIS.

Aired September 08, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN breaking news. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Here we go. The Baltimore Ravens have now terminated the contract of their star running back Ray Rice. This news comes mere hours after elevator video surveillance video surfaced that shows Ray Rice with his then-fiance, Janay Palmer, knocking her unconscious and dragging her out of this elevator. We'll show you that for you in a second.

Here we go. To the tweet. This is when it first broke just mere minutes ago on the Baltimore Raven Twitter site. "Ravens terminated running back Ray Rice's contract this afternoon." So there's the tweet.

To the video. And before we show it, it's tough to watch. It's tough to watch. It tells the story and explains what's going on.

Here you see Ray Rice in the corner. Girlfriend -- this is the end of the video. This is post punch. Hopefully, we'll see the whole thing. You see punches thrown. You can't see her now because she's already on the ground and unconscious. Being pulled out of the elevator. Doesn't cover her up. We had to blur it. This happened in March inside this Atlantic City casino. It's disgusting. Everyone sitting next to me can agree. Here we go. Here they have it re-racked. The punch. She goes down. You get it.

Guys, we don't have to keep playing this.

You know the story. The back story. NFL gave them a two-game suspension without pay. They are now married. They are now married and they say they are going through counseling. We should mention domestic violence policy totally changed after this incident.

But still, Rachel Nichols, host of CNN's "UNGUARDED," joining me, and Lisa Bloom, a legal analyst for Avo.com.

Can we all just agree, A, it's horrendous and horrible and disgusting and fill-in-the-blank adjective, and kudos to the Ravens for terminating him.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN HOST, UNGUARDED: I'm not going to start throwing applause to any organization that took this long and took an outside organization like TMZ to collect the video to terminate him now. I think we have to be careful with any praise here. If TMZ could obtain the video, the video is obtainable. There's no excuse. The NFL or Baltimore Ravens say we didn't see that video. We didn't know exactly what happened.

Guess what? Not only could they have gotten it the exact same way TMZ did but Ray Rice and his defense team had to have access to that video as part of his court case. When the NFL called Ray Rice in for his disciplinary hearing before they made this judgment entirely, they could have said to Ray Rice, guess what? When you show up in our offices in New York, you better bring that tape because if you don't, we're not even going to start to talk about you getting back on the field and we'll wait for you to bring it to us. He would have brought it. The fact that they didn't do that when they had that at their disposal as well tells me I don't know how interested they were in getting the truth.

BALDWIN: Is it only now that TMZ has broken the story, shown the video, a clear public outcry that this is now happened on behalf of the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens?

LISA BLOOM, LEGAL ANALYST, AVO.COM: Everything Rachel said is true. I would take it even a step further. The NFL has some real explaining to do. Did they have this video in their files when they made a decision to give him a slap on the wrist of just two-game suspension? If so, how could they have done that? Is it now that it's public and now that they are publicly embarrassed, they are changing their tune, or did they not have it because they did such a lame investigation? NFL, does it take TMZ to do an investigation for you when a woman is punched in the face, knocked out and is unconscious on the ground?

BALDWIN: What's Roger Goodell's move now? In a statement today, he said he never saw the video, correct? What's his move now that Ray Rice is gone?

NICHOLS: He's gone from the Ravens. Any other team can pick him up now. So that's another thing to remember. You would have to expect that most NFL teams seeing this enormous backlash would not sign him right now. However, think down the road, six months from now, we'll have to see what happens. The story is not over. He's just not done for good. Any other team is free to pick him up. He's available.

BLOOM: Yeah, and he has to explain why the woman who was punched in the face was attacked in the media that she attacked him and that the NFL people who were making this decision had seen the video and in it she is attacking him. Now that we see the video we see that's completely untrue.

BALDWIN: To me, it's so obvious. You have real life and you have NFL. I kept thinking, OK, Brooke, if you are someone and you have a fiance and you are caught punching that person --

(CROSSTALK)

BLOOM: Don't forget in real life, the court let him go. BALDWIN: You know where I'm going with this.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: It's assault. It's battery.

BLOOM: As an attorney, I want accountability in the legal system. What's the message? Punch a woman in the face and get a slap on the wrist? He's in a diversionary program. He was charged. He was allowed to go into a program. We don't know details. Counseling, anger management probably. And if he's successfully completes it, charges are dropped. So did prosecutors see this video and ignore the video because he's a celebrity? They have answering to do, too.

BALDWIN: Is anyone going to be investigating the legal team or whoever it would be at the NFL, who did or did not ever obtain this video, to your point?

NICHOLS: I think citizens can call for some sort of investigation into the prosecution or the legal system. I can tell you right now no one is investigating the NFL. That's not going to happen. There's no body to do that. There's no overarching judgment of sport in this country that could then investigate the NFL.

Is there going to be enough of a public outcry that the NFL makes some changes? They've already made those changes. There was such a public outcry the first time when they only announced a two-game suspension for what everyone saw was more severe and they revamped their domestic violence policy. It's six games or more for first offense. Second offense you are banned for life. There are people now today after seeing this video calling first offense should be a ban for life and another important note about this Ray Rice investigation, Ray Rice's now wife was interviewed by the NFL in front of her husband. When they interviewed her and had her explain "her side of the story" Ray Rice was sitting next to her.

BLOOM: It's just so outrageous.

NICHOLS: It's rule number one of domestic violence cases. Not to get the information from the abused when the abuser is sitting right there.

BLOOM: You know what the video changes in the legal system? She had married him and said she didn't want to testify. Prosecutors may have felt we really don't have much of a case. If they had this video and they had the people who were walking by when he's dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator that would have been sufficient to prosecute.

BALDWIN: Let's stay on this.

Lisa Bloom, Rachel Nichols, thank you both very much.

According to Ravens and now we have it their terminating but to Rachel's point that means terminated by the Ravens. He could get picked up some place else.

Let's move on and get back to ISIS and the threat posed by ISIS. You've seen these propaganda videos. Now it's time for the United States to counter these videos. The State Department counter- messaging ISIS with its own gruesome video. Walking a fine line here. How do they do this? How do they discourage young potential jihadis from going and joining the fight? That's next.

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BALDWIN: The United States is pitting ISIS's bloody gruesome images against the terror group. The State Department released a video to counter ISIS propaganda. And the U.S. video contains images as brutal of the ones at that ISIS uses, so we're not showing you that. The video, I can tell you, includes footage of a body thrown off a cliff, a mosque blown up, and beheadings.

Dawn Perlmutter is an expert on religious terrorism and ritualistic murder, and founder and head of the Symbol Intelligence Group.

Dawn, welcome to you, first of all.

And let's just begin with the State Department is trying to counter, trying to discourage young potential jihadis from going over and fighting with ISIS. But you say this video isn't effective.

DAWN PERLMUTTER, EXPERT ON RELIGIOUS TERRORISM AND RITUALISTIC MURDER & FOUNDER, DIRECTOR, SYMBOL INTELLIGENCE GROUP: It's completely ineffective.

BALDWIN: Why?

PERLMUTTER: Regardless of the ethical issues of perpetuating the violence, they don't really understand the audience that they are targeting. ISIS is recruiting people because of the brutality and because of the violent images. It appeals to young people who want to be the next gang member type thing. So they're really -- the think- again, turn-away campaign is actually promoting recruitment more than dissuading it.

BALDWIN: Just from what I read in "The Washington Post" this morning, and other articles, they know that the younger generation they are trying to grab and join the fight, they are attracted to -- the violent images are appealing to them. The State Department is trying to turn it on its head and use appealing images but say, in the end, you are going over there to kill innocent Muslims. It's not worth it.

PERLMUTTER: They know they're going over there to kill people. That's why they are going. We do not understand -- it's like applying a rational Western philosophy to a lull of the jungle gang-banger mentality. It's not going to work.

BALDWIN: What will work?

PERLMUTTER: The only thing that would -- suggestions would be the oldest strategy in history, divide and conquer. You foment dissent among feuding groups, al Nusra versus ISIS. There's a number of ways they could do that using the same technology. Also, if you're going to make videos, interview the U.S. Marines. Let them say what they planned to do if you're coming.

BALDWIN: Incredible hearing from veterans, even women, active men and women. They've been over there. A lot of them have fought them for years and years, right?

PERLMUTTER: They know how to message. Interview them and let them say how they would handle the situation. Like I said, the think- again, turn-away campaign is really -- there's a fundamental misunderstanding of jihadist messaging and of how they think about things.

BALDWIN: OK. Dawn Perlmutter, thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. Your sense of how the State Department video will work and perhaps not at discouraging young jihadis.

A quick break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Former NFL quarterback is fighting for a cystic fibrosis cure to save his son's life. In today's "Impact Your World," Chris Cuomo shows us the foundation he's created to help make that happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR, NEW DAY (voice-over): When you look at Gunner Esiason, he seems like a typical 20-something, but the son of former NFL quarterback, Boomer Esiason, has cystic fibrosis, a life threatening lung and digestive disease.

GUNNER ESIASON, HAS CYSTIC FIBROSIS: I have given myself no other option but to live a normal life.

CUOMO: That includes twice daily treatments in a mechanical vest to clear his airway and medication before eating anything.

GUNNER ESIASON: I have to do these therapies and take my medication every day if I want to survive. Gunner was diagnosed at two.

BOOMER ESIASON, NEW YORK JETS FOOTBALL PLAYER: When you get that news you immediately think the worst.

CUOMO: Boomer had just been traded to the New York Jets. He almost retired but realized football gave him a national platform.

BOOMER ESIASON: Figuring that I am in the biggest media capital of the world and how I could use that platform to leverage who I am to raise money and awareness for the disease.

CUOMO: That year, the Super Bowl quarterback and his wife launched the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

BOOMER ESIASON: We raised money for drug development, transplant grants, scholarship grants, and we support hospital development.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go, Boomer.

CUOMO: Over two decades, Boomer says the foundation has raised more than $100 million.

BOOMER ESIASON: It's not easy. It's painstaking. It's time consuming. But as you can see, sitting next to me, I have a passion for it, and it's the best way I know how to have an impact on that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The European Union is negotiating into the evening in a bid to slap new sanctions against Russia despite the cease-fire with Ukraine. European security officials say the agreement is holding but it's shaky. Shelling and explosions broke out Sunday. The heaviest fighting has been near the airport in Donetsk. A prisoner exchange is expected to begin soon between the Ukrainian government and pro- Russian rebels.

Back to our breaking story here. Just in the last hour, we've learned that Ray Rice has been terminated from the Baltimore Ravens following the release of that video, surveillance video inside the elevator, thanks to TMZ, showing him punching his then-fiance. Much more on that coming up at the top of the hour. Don't move.

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