Goodell Was Wrong When He Said Casino Couldn't Have Given Up Rice Video

In his letter to owners yesterday, Roger Goodell addressed the question of why ( in his version of events) the NFL never approached the Revel Casino about getting a copy of the surveillance tape.

We did not ask the Atlantic City casino directly for the video. Again, our understanding of New Jersey law is that the casino is prohibited from turning over material to a third party during a law enforcement proceeding, and that doing so would have subjected individuals to prosecution for interference with a criminal investigation.

Today, TMZ inquired about just that.

Paul Loriquet, the Director of Communications for the New Jersey Attorney General, tells TMZ bluntly, "No, it's not illegal."

To be clear ... our question was very specific: "Is it illegal for the casino to show or provide this material to a private entity in an ongoing investigation." His answer, "No, it's not illegal."

So. Bad legal advice for the NFL? Or just a bad excuse?

[ TMZ]