Ray Rice Reinstated, Will Anyone Dare...???

((HT: WJZ-TV))

The HQ saw this coming a while back...

When it appeared that the NFL had gone after now-former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice in a double jeopardy sense after the assault of his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, in an elevator we thought the second suspension constituted what we thought.

Overzealous activity...

So, yes when judge Barbara Jones heard the case as an arbitor, we figured this would be her response:

"In this arbitration, the NFL argues that Commissioner Goodell was misled when he disciplined Rice the first time. Because, after careful consideration of all of the evidence, I am not persuaded that Rice lied to, or misled, the NFL at his June interview, I find that the indefinite suspension was an abuse of discretion and must be vacated," Jones' decision stated.

"I find that the NFLPA carried its burden of showing that Rice did not mislead the Commissioner at the June 16th meeting, and therefore, that the imposition of a second suspension based on the same incident and the same known facts about the incident, was arbitrary," Jones also wrote.

"The Commissioner needed to be fair and consistent in his imposition of discipline.

"Moreover, any failure on the part of the League to understand the level of violence was not due to Rice's description of the event but to the inadequacy of words to convey the seriousness of domestic violence. That the League did not realize the severity of the conduct without a visual record also speaks to their admitted failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely."

Here's the rundown from Baltimore...


Now, the larger question: Will anyone hire him for the stretch run this season or will there be some kind of collusion/adverse reaction to public opinion that will keep Rice unemployed in the NFL...???

The HQ thinks the latter...

For a while...

Surprising No One, NFLPA Appeals Rice Suspension

((HT: ESPN))

Double jeopardy doesn't work in any formation of the law- and that inclues the implementation of suspensions in the NFL.

The NFLPA is challenging the indefinite suspension of former Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice on the grounds that he was penalized for the same infraction twice. No matter how repulsive the charge and action, the NFLPA is doing the job that you would expect an association to do to back up one of their employees.

"This action taken by our union is to protect the due process rights of all NFL players," the NFL Players Association said in a statement. "The NFLPA appeal is based on supporting facts that reveal a lack of a fair and impartial process, including the role of the office of the commissioner of the NFL. We have asked that a neutral and jointly selected arbitrator hear this case as the commissioner and his staff will be essential witnesses in the proceeding and thus cannot serve as impartial arbitrators."

Jeff Saturday discusses:


Rice can apply for reinstatement when he convinces NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he is "addressing this issue." Rice is in a diversion program at present and he could get the assault charged expunged if he completes it successfully.

But here's how the HQ sees this playing out...

The NFLPA will challenge, and will win their case. But no one will hire Ray Rice as an employee in the NFL (or any other league for that matter). This black-balling will cause Rice to sue the NFL for wrongful termination and the league and the player will be in court in an ugly case with a high-profile attorney defending his right to work.

This is FAR from over...

Roger Goodell: Calls For His Head Increasing Fast (UPDATED)

((Ed Note--This was written before the breaking news late Wednesday that Law Enforcement officials tell the Associated Press they sent the NFL a copy of the video in question back in April. Source is not yet apparent, but this does not look good))

So, we can now add the National Organization for Women to the list of outside the NFL groups and writers calling for the resignation of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal.

And they make a fairly good argument quite honestly.

The group (NOW) issued a press release on their website stalking about the issues currently facing the league.

---The arrest of 49ers DT Ray McDonald who is playing while facing domestic violence charges.
---Greg Hardy of the Panthers, who is playing after being convicted of choking his ex-girlfriend and threatening to kill her
--The latest circus surrounding Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who is being accused of sexually assaulting a woman.

NOW says "The only workable solution is for Roger Goodell to resign, and for his successor to appoint an independent investigator with full authority to gather factual data about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking within the NFL community and to recommend real and lasting reforms."

Read the entire release from NOW RIGHT HERE

Multiple Sports columnists in TV, Newspaper and on the web have been highly critical of the commissioner who essentially has pled innocence to knowing about the TMZ/Casino elevator tape showing Ray Race sucker punching his now wife Janay.

We won't get to the tape anymore, because the story is now what did the NFL know? And did they just pretend this issue would go away?

For their part, the NFL Owners have come out and said Goodell is safe. But how will they react the next time a big issue comes up?

Everyone brings up the line Goodell used on the New Orleans Saints last year "Ignorance of what's going on within your organization is no excuse". How does he stand now issuing the same line?

Not well. In the grand scheme of things, yeah, sure, most people are appalled about what happened with the Rice incident and they should be. And you can argue there's a segment of the population that is tired of Athletes, mostly pros, getting preferential treatment when they do something stupid. Which happens in the NFL, a lot.

But to make the argument there's an overwhelming public outcry is probably an overstatement. The guy giving up 6-months of pay for seasons tickets doesn't care as long as his team wins. And as long as the TV ratings continue skyrocketing while the revenue pot grows every year, the league won't be in a hurry to do something drastic.

That being said, to a lot of people who do pay attention to such things, they (The NFL) are running out of "Get out of Jail Free" cards. Right, wrong or otherwise, the perception is they have a crime problem and now are willing to overlook things.

At some point, maybe not today, but soon...it's going to catch up to them.

((NOTE--The Ravens, albeit a little late, admitted on Tuesday that they made a big mistake not pursuing the video harder than they did and taking Rice at his word. Again, it's late, but at least the team and owner Steve Bisciotti are willing to fess up to it. Still waiting on you NFL...))

In case you missed it, here again is the Jolly Roger defending himself by pleading ignorance on the CBS Morning show...who in a fortuitous bit of timing, just happen to start broadcasting Thursday night NFL games this week, with the now Rice-less Ravens playing.

DEVELOPING: Ray Rice Waived And Suspended After Video Release (UPDATED W/Fan Reax)

((HT: TMZ Sports))

Yeah, okay, it was as bad as we all thought...

After the Sunday Night football game, TMZ Sports released the Ray Rice video and it's pretty graphic...

Ray Rice -- ELEVATOR KNOCKOUT ... Fiancee Takes Crushing Punch [Video]
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The NFL league office claimed that they had not seen the elevator video where Rice had allegedly assaulted his then fiancee, but then it was released. The league wasted no time in suspending him indefinitely after the Ravens waived him.

Simply put by the Ravens on their Twitter:

The Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice's contract this afternoon.

The Shield followed up with, on their Twitter through spokesman Greg Aiello:

Roger Goodell has announced that based on new video evidence that became available today he has
indefinitely suspended Ray Rice.

A lot of different media sources are calling "shenanigans" that the league didn't know this was what was on the tape. But Jay Glazer had maintained from the beginning that this was the case and, thus, the two-game punishment.

Now, the Ravens will have to retool their offense for an entire season and, possibly, hit the market looking for a tailback that can get quality yards...

CBS Baltimore's Mike Hellgren has fan reaction from the town

Ray Rice Had A Presser: Believe At Your Own Peril, Deford Goes After Goodell's Handling Of It

((HT: CSNBaltimore.com))

Here's his sound bite on how he will be an advocate on domestic violence issues with his wife, Janay...


If this had come sooner, and not in the pee-ahr dumpster fire that is the Baltimore Ravens, there might be a little more credibility here. But the HQ is not really holding its breath on this one...

The greatest hits:

He apologized to his wife

He claimed that he did not have a domestic violence issue before February

He would not go into detail as to what actually went down in the elevator in the moments before the security camera video picks up the two of them pouring out of the elevator

He apologized to any woman who has faced a violent situation

He would not have appealed the suspension- no matter how long it was

But Frank Deford of NPR's "Morning Edition" brought up an interesting tack on the future of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell- basically asking for his head- in his Wednesday commentary.

In part:

Goodell's sideswipe of a punishment to Ray Rice indicates, if nothing else, a cultural ignorance on his part. Remember, this is the businessman who is widely compared to a tobacco executive for so long procrastinating, denying the effects of obvious occupational concussions, a promoter who hanged a good health of his fungible players, even now wants more Thursday games and a longer regular-season schedule. But the NFL is the biggest boon this side of the Internet, so Goodell is cocooned by his ever-richer owners and a phalanx of admiring football reporters. The networks, his breathless partners, are simply bootlickers. The exalted NFL so needs a rector, a magistrate who comes to the game, not from within it. It needs a leader of grace and vision. More and more, Roger Goodell just looks like a slick, selling us 76 trombones.

Listen to it all here

John Harbaugh Stands Behind Ray Rice

((HT: CSN Washington))

Here's the sound bite in full where the Ravens head coach says he stands behind his running back in light of the two game suspension the NFL gave Ray Rice after his violation of the league conduct policy.


Rice and his then-fiancee/now wife, Janay, were involved in a physical altercation February 15th at an Atlantic City casino. Rice was shown on surveillance tape from inside the casino physically assaulting Janay and dragging her out of an elevator by her hair.

Rice was charged with aggravated felony assault, but avoided jail time by doing a pre-trial diversion program.
They both met NFL commissioner Roger Goodell four months later at the league office in New York City.

Good to know that you can either smoke something or take something illegal and get a longer suspension than smacking your significant other around and having it seen on video tape.

Fantastic standards to work by...

Ray Rice... It's Up To You...

((HT: WBAL-TV/TMZ Sports))

As Peter King put it on his Twitter feed:

In other news, Ray Rice had better have one heck of an explanation for Atlantic City.

Eloquence in simplicity there...

Here's what the folks over at TMZ Sports have from Rice and his fiancee's incident in Atlantic City...

Ray Rice -- Dragging Unconscious Fiancee ... After Alleged Mutual Attack
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The bottom line...

Rice and his fiancee, Janay Palmer, were in the Revel Casino in Atlantic City and were involved in some kind of physical "altercation" around 3AM Saturday. Rice, allegedly, struck Palmer at one point rendering her unconscious. Rice and Palmer were charged with simple assault-domestic violence and were both released on a summons to appear in court.

The above video released by TMZ is the end of the incident...

This from the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office:

"The domestic violence incident in Atlantic City involving Ray Rice has been referred to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office for review. The Atlantic City Police Department has requested the Prosecutor’s Office review the case to ensure all appropriate charges are considered. The matter remains under investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office in conjunction with the Atlantic City Police Department. At the present time, Mr. Rice remains charged with simple assault, a disorderly person's offense."

The Ravens and Ozzie Newsome are letting the legal system do their thing.

Here's the complaint, thanks to ABC2 in Baltimore...

Ray Rice Complaint