Ray Rice to appeal indefinite suspension from NFL

BALTIMORE, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Ray Rice plans to appeal his indefinite suspension from the NFL, handed down after a video surfaced showing him knocking out his then-fiancee in an elevator.

Multiple sources say Rice, who was cut by the Baltimore Ravens, will appeal NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's punishment Monday. He has until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday -- three days after the players' union was officially notified of the suspension -- to file.

The appeal will be handled by the players' union, and ultimately will come under Goodell's authority, but Rice will likely to request an independent hearing officer to deal with the case.

At issue will be whether Rice lied about what happened in the elevator to the team or the league. Video of the incident that first surfaced in March only showed one angle: Rice dragging an unconscious Janay Palmer out of the elevator. Palmer told league and team officials she shared in the blame, and until TMZ released video from inside the elevator last week, the prevailing story was that she had hit him first.

Rice is expected to contend he told league and team officials the truth, and Ravens G.M. Ozzie Newsome has said Rice did not lie.

The NFL also maintains no one at the league saw the video inside the elevator until last week, but a law enforcement official has said he sent the tape to an NFL executive back in April.

Former FBI director Robert Mueller has been asked to conduct an investigation into the NFL's handling of the incident.