In light of the recently surfaced video footage of NFL star Ray Rice knocking his wife unconscious inside of a hotel elevator, the White House has issued a statement strongly condemning domestic violence.

In March, Rice was arrested and indicted for third-degree aggravated assault relating for punching his then-fiancée in the face and knocking her out on Feb. 15 at an Atlantic City casino. The couple subsequently married on March 28.

However, on Monday the Baltimore Ravens cut the star running back after TMZ published additional video of Rice punching his wife Janay and then callously dragging her motionless body out of the elevator.

Following Rice's termination over the controversial incident, the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest released a statement Monday night stating:

"The president is the father of two daughters. And like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society. Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that's true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors," Earnest added, reports Politico. "Stopping domestic violence is something that's bigger than football -- and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it."

Earlier that day, Earnest was asked by reporters about Rice's termination during his daily press briefing, shortly after the news broke. Caught off guard, reports Mediaite, he said:

"This administration and this president do believe strongly that the scourge of violence against women is something that needs to be aggressively combated. I don't want to comment on the individual decisions that are made by, in this case, by an individual football team. But you have seen the president and the vice president make very forceful public comments in talking about how important it is for men in particular to step up and step forward and make clear that violence against women is something that is not and cannot be tolerated."