Dallas Cowboys Owner Defends Roger Goodell In Ray Rice Controversy

As the NFL and its commissioner Roger Goodell continue to fight backlash after a video of Ray Rice beating his wife was released on Monday, some NFL team owners are coming to the league's defense.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this week that he believes NFL commissioner Goodell is telling the truth when he claims that the NFL had not viewed the video before it was released by TMZ on Monday.

"He said he did not and I believe him," Jones told 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] on Friday. "But the good news -- not good news, but we've opened up a real investigation, unfettered investigation, and I think we need to let that show us the results and let it unfold."

"He's been a very good commissioner," Jones said. "He's acknowledged that he's mishandled this, and he's said that he'll do better in the future. He can and I believe he will."

Goodell has previously claimed that the NFL had no knowledge of the Rice video before it was released Monday. The video shows Rice punching his wife until she is unconscious in an Atlantic City hotel elevator earlier this year. Before Monday, the only video released to the public showed Rice dragging his unconscious wife out of the elevator, although it was not confirmed that he had physically abused her.

The NFL and its commissioner have been criticized for their handling of the situation, with some even calling for Goodell's resignation. Critics are arguing that the NFL should have given Rice a more strict punishment when news of the domestic beating incident emerged earlier this year.

In an interview with CBS this week, Goodell called the video "sickening" and said the NFL would do everything it could to investigate the incident. Rice has blamed the incident on hard alcohol and has said he and his wife are dealing with the issue personally.