(Reuters)

The elevator video of Ray Rice slugging his then-fiancée Janay Palmer was posted by TMZ at 4 a.m. ET Monday. By the time the east coast was waking up, the story was beginning to make the rounds. By lunchtime, it was a full-fledged national scandal. Then, just after 2 p.m. ET, the Baltimore Ravens announced they had terminated the contract of their longtime running back.

It was the right move. It was the only move. That doesn’t make it the commendable one. Doing something because you have no other realistic option isn’t brave, it’s a matter of self-preservation.

Prior to the announcement of Rice’s release, the NFL had been quiet for most of the day. Despite TV, radio, Twitter and Facebook being filled with opinions on Rice’s NFL future, the only public comment from the league was a self-serving statement about when the video was seen for the first time.

Ray Rice and his wife, Janay, at a May press conference. (AP)

The particulars of who saw the video and when they saw it are an interesting, and potentially devastating, wrinkle to this case. For the moment, they’re irrelevant. Only one thing mattered: Someone had to make its decision immediately. This wasn’t the time for dragging out an investigation. The public demanded action. With Rice’s release, then the announcement of Goodell’s indefinite suspension, they received it. Justice moves quickly when the outrage gets loud enough.

Both the Ravens and the league office should be thankful to TMZ. The online tabloid provided an opportunity to rectify an enormous mistake. Without the release of that video, Rice would have been back with the Baltimore Ravens on Friday and Roger Goodell’s toothless two-game ban would have been part of his lasting legacy.

Now, it’ll be a mere footnote to one of the ugliest chapters in recent NFL memory.