O/T - Ray Rice is toast

[c_hawkbob]

Ravens just released his stupid arse.

Baltimore Ravens ✔ @Ravens
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The #Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice's contract this afternoon.
1:18 PM - 8 Sep 2014
34,065 RETWEETS 12,268 FAVORITES

In case you hadn't seen the video released today: http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/08/ray-rice- ... nch-video/

[HumanCockroach]

Good! Dude should have a difficult time getting on another team, but probably won't. Balls in his brothers court now, we'll see how he and the Niners handle the situation down there, guy started the Dallas game ( which honestly didn't surprise me after the way they handled Smith's situation last year) but it will be interesting to watch. Reports are there were multiple marks on the victim, so it will bare watching moving forward....

[mykc14]

Wow, I haven't seen the video and can't at work but it must be pretty bad. Good for the Raven's.

[Uppercut]

Hairball will probably pick him up!

[c_hawkbob]

Hairball will probably pick him up!

Not now, he's suspended from the league indefinitely: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf ... /15291729/

[Seahawks4Ever]

Roger Goodell is toast. The NFL is saying that "new" information has surfaced and that they had never seen the video of the inside of the elevator when there are people who are saying that the NFL did see it BEFORE they gave him that slap on the wrist.

Goodell has led the pussification of the NFL yet until recently didn't care about domestic violence.

McDonald of the Niners will now face at least a 6 month suspension.

I am so glad the deal with Lynch turned out to be phoney. I am hoping that none of Seahawks strike anybody especially women.

[RiverDog]

I'm going to ask a stupid question: Why in the hell did she marry him?

[jshawaii22]

RD --

#1: You can't be forced to testify against your spouse

#2: $$$$$$

#3: Not for Love...

[Zorn76]

Brutal.

And something is amiss since any number of people - including those at NFL HQ - must have, at the very least, suspected that some kind of security video existed capturing the entire thing.

I dunno. F the Ravens, too. Had this footage not surfaced, it woulda been business as usual.

[RiverDog]

RD --

#1: You can't be forced to testify against your spouse

#2: $$$$$$

#3: Not for Love...

#4 He is great in bed. What ever the reason, she ought to have her head examined if she stayed with him after being abused like that. But it's not the first time it's happened. I have seen it happen with people I've known.

I've never seen the league back track as quickly as they have on this case or with a bigger PR nightmare for them, the closest one being with Michael Vick. They're in the midst of overhauling their drug/PED policy, look for them to do the same with personal conduct.

I am curious, does the league hire/employ private investigators to look into personal conduct cases like this? I would think that their information gathering needs to be looked at as yesterday was the first time they saw the video. It would be one thing if it were video taken by a private individual and withheld from them, but this one looked like it was from a hotel security camera and might have been able to have been accessed by the league before it got released on TMZ.

[kalibane]

Here is my problem with this whole thing. Why was it even necessary for this second video to come out in order to have all this extra outrage and change anything. Whether NFL officials or the Ravens saw this footage before or not. They did see her out cold being drug out of the elevator and remaining face down on the floor for several minutes.

Ray Rice admitted there was an incident whereby he was responsible for putting her in that state. What is the plausible scenario where she is completely unconscious, Ray Rice is responsible and it's not this violent? People changing their tune now are just running for cover. It was obvious what one way or another Ray Rice hit her like she was another man in mutual combat. The new "tough" stance by Goodell and the Ravens organization smacks of trying to save face.

I'm not going to be too hard on the victim in this case. We don't know her background (or at least I don't) people who come from abusive homes usually find way to repeat the cycle of trauma. The same way girls with absentee fathers tend to seek out father figures in their romantic life and women who were sexually abused when they were young are often attracted most to men who are of very low moral character. If she comes from a background like that and has never gone through the therapeutic process I can completely see why she "stood by her man".

[c_hawkbob]

Here is my problem with this whole thing. Why was it even necessary for this second video to come out in order to have all this extra outrage and change anything. Whether NFL officials or the Ravens saw this footage before or not. They did see her out cold being drug out of the elevator and remaining face down on the floor for several minutes.

Ray Rice admitted there was an incident whereby he was responsible for putting her in that state. What is the plausible scenario where she is completely unconscious, Ray Rice is responsible and it's not this violent? People changing their tune now are just running for cover. It was obvious what one way or another Ray Rice hit her like she was another man in mutual combat. The new "tough" stance by Goodell and the Ravens organization smacks of trying to save face.

I'm not going to be too hard on the victim in this case. We don't know her background (or at least I don't) people who come from abusive homes usually find way to repeat the cycle of trauma. The same way girls with absentee fathers tend to seek out father figures in their romantic life and women who were sexually abused when they were young are often attracted most to men who are of very low moral character. If she comes from a background like that and has never gone through the therapeutic process I can completely see why she "stood by her man".

I don't think that was so obvious Kal. I always suspected that to be the case but she could have passed out drunk or stoned and been just as unresponsive. Yes he admitted to hitting her, but it could have been a "get a grip woman" slap. Again, I always suspected but until you actually see it ... Well, it's hard to destroy a person's life without certainty.

Now having seen it though ... get the baseball bat.

[kalibane]

I don't think being drunk has anything to do with being knocked out. Drunks get knocked out more frequently because they are easier to hit cleanly but I'm pretty sure that physiologically your BAC has no effect on the amount of force it takes to knock a person unconscious.

An open handed slap does not supply enough force. Even most punches require you to be in a stance such that some of the force is generated from your base. I don't think there was any question that he punched her. The video only confirms that she wasn't punching him first.

[c_hawkbob]

What's that got to do with anything? I didn't say she could have gotten knocked out from a slap because she was drunk, my point was that you can render yourself just as unconscious and unresponsive by being drunk as by being knocked out. Without that video inside the elevator we just didn't know.

[kalibane]

Yes it certainly would have been possible that she passed out drunk or something. And if that was his story and he stuck to it, then yeah I get why the new video changes things. The problem is he already acknowledged that she was unconscious as a result of him taking physical actions directed at her.

People don't generally hold press conferences to apologize for making the worst mistake of their lives because their significant other got so drunk they passed out.

Given all that there are only two real possibilities. He either punched her in the face or he choked her out.

[c_hawkbob]

If you're comfortable with that level of assumption in potentially ruining someone's life fine, just don't call me out for not being as comfortable with it.

[kalibane]

I never called you out personally Bob, but I'm not sure why you are inferring that I'm making some kind of grand assumption here.

Rice (and this is actually to his credit) never once asserted that there was another reason for her lack of consciousness other than his admitted assault on her. He never tried to cover it up. He flat out admitted he physically assaulted her and apologized for it.

If she was unconscious by virtue of intoxication why would you voluntarily take the PR hit? Why would his wife want to be known as a woman who is abused and stands by her abuser?

"“It’s inexcusable,” he said. “The pain that I’m talking about living with, my little girl, she’s 2 now, one day she’s going to … know the power of Google and she’ll see that. That’s not who I am as a man. I was raised by a single mother. I let her down, I let my wife down, I let my daughter down, I let the community of Baltimore down, I let my teammates down. I let everybody down. I’m man [enough] to say I needed help." And then vowed to be involved in raising awareness about domestic violence.

Who says this because his wife got pass out drunk? I don't see that I'm making anything but the smallest of assumptions. If there was any kind of other explanation for why she was knocked out he gains nothing by taking the bullet for domestic violence.

I suppose I can't pinpoint the exact kind of strike he used to accomplish the end result, but kick, elbow, punch, choke, knee... some way some how he hit her in the head with enough force or cut off the blood supply to her brain long enough to render her unconscious, by his own admission.

[c_hawkbob]

No you didn't call me out specifically but you did say:

People changing their tune now are just running for cover

... which kind of throws a blanket over all of us that didn't immediately condemn him as the cretin he is right from the get go. I am after all one of those people and I'm not running for cover at all.

[kalibane]

Hey Bob I was with you on not jumping to conclusion when the incident when it was first reported. I was have been right there with you. I even would take up for Steven A. Smith (no matter how sick it makes me feel to stick up for that blowhard) regarding the comments he got suspended for.

I have no beef with anyone who was just waiting for Due Process. That's responsible.

However, after the Ravens and the NFL concluded their respective investigations (which included Ray Rice copping to physically abusing his girlfriend with the end result being her laying face down on the floor unconscious as a result of the assault) and believed that a 2 game suspension was adequate. Or even a 6 game suspension under the new guidelines. But now that the 2nd video came out now they are so outraged that they are willing to suspend him indefinitely and terminate his contract.

They are overcompensating for their previous lack of initiative plain and simple. Nothing has changed from when Goodell issued his first ruling. The facts are all the same. The only difference is there is a concrete visual that they can't erase from public consciousness.

This is not about authentic outrage. It's about saving face. Minimizing the PR hit.

[c_hawkbob]

Hey Bob I was with you on not jumping to conclusion when the incident when it was first reported. I was have been right there with you. I even would take up for Steven A. Smith (no matter how sick it makes me feel to stick up for that blowhard) regarding the comments he got suspended for.

I have no beef with anyone who was just waiting for Due Process. That's responsible.

However, after the Ravens and the NFL concluded their respective investigations (which included Ray Rice copping to physically abusing his girlfriend with the end result being her laying face down on the floor unconscious as a result of the assault) and believed that a 2 game suspension was adequate. Or even a 6 game suspension under the new guidelines. But now that the 2nd video came out now they are so outraged that they are willing to suspend him indefinitely and terminate his contract.

They are overcompensating for their previous lack of initiative plain and simple. Nothing has changed from when Goodell issued his first ruling. The facts are all the same. The only difference is there is a concrete visual that they can't erase from public consciousness.

This is not about authentic outrage. It's about saving face. Minimizing the PR hit.

I guess I just took exception to the wording of your prior post seeming to include me with Goodell and the Ravens. I'm good with writing this off as a misunderstanding. For my part I'm sorry for the confusion.

[HumanCockroach]

Personally I feel like the NFL way underestimated the backlash that was coming in this instance. The original suspension got a huge backlash, and when pictures are put the crime people always react more strongly. Rice got what he deserved, and I won't bat an eye if he never returns ( though I almost guarantee he will) , that said, IF ( and that is a big one) the NFL did indeed see this film before the release to the general public, they should be held accountable as well. I'm with Bob, in that I ALWAYS encourage people to wait and let the process play out, sometimes, there is a hell of a lot more to the story than what the media sends out, and the dire need to get a "scoop" often times proceeds the truth.

Kaepernick, Lynch etc , at some point it would be nice to see some responsibility and accountability amongst the bloggers and beat writers, but I know that is just fantasy. This nation really has turned into the national enquirer when it comes to celebrities in the press ( all press).

[kalibane]

I wonder if Rice will ever make it back. He's a RB that's getting close to 30 years old and last year he was pretty bad. It's hard enough for guys at his position at that age to get a contract. Who wants to take that baggage on top of everything else?

[HumanCockroach]

Someone will give him a shot somewhere along the road. He's 27, and while the 30 barometer seems to be foremost in peoples minds there backs successful beyond it. The dude has talent no matter how much of a sh!tball he happens to be as a person, some team will take a flyer on him before it's said and done. Won't lose a bit of sleep if I'm wrong, but I think he'll resurface at some point,

[obiken]

No he wont Human, He wont play another down in the NFL unless its for the Ravens. NO team would/Could take the heat.
Here's my question, the next guy with a video, beats his wife will get 6 games?? Either the NFL will have to redo the CBA or they will have to let RR, off the hook. Another thing, how can you give him 2 separate sanctions for the same crime?? This might not be over legally.

[HumanCockroach]

I've heard that so many times I can't count them all. Vick, Holmes etc. People always say that, and then a year or two later, sure enough they are back on a football field. Like I said, I could care less, he gets what he gets, but something tells me, he gets another shot somewhere. Plenty of people have made mistakes, and I'm not entirely sure, that a dude that until that point had zero issues, and has had zero issues after the fact ( especially considering the lady married him, and is in counseling) is going to blackballed .

Doesn't effect me one way or another, just believe he will get a one year show me contract at some point.

( if Rice is smart, he will NOT fight it, follow through on everything the NFL says he has to do, have not a blip on a police blotter and work hard to get back)

[obiken]

You could be right HC but the NFL is a business and I don't see with the new marking to female fans, the NFL fudging on this one. I could be wrong of course.

[Hawktawk]

No he wont Human, He wont play another down in the NFL unless its for the Ravens. NO team would/Could take the heat.
Here's my question, the next guy with a video, beats his wife will get 6 games?? Either the NFL will have to redo the CBA or they will have to let RR, off the hook. Another thing, how can you give him 2 separate sanctions for the same crime?? This might not be over legally.

My thought exactly!!! How in the F did everyone think Rices lady was rendered unconscious? He admitted he was responsible for it and was assessed a penalty by the DA and the league. Now after putting a name and a face to spousal abuse he is a leper. I'm not defending him, the footage is revolting. But he and his wife seem like they have truly moved on and are in counseling. The league is full of hypocrites. From Rothlesburger with multiple accusations of sexual misconduct getting off with 4 games, Terrell Suggs being court ordered to surrender his weapons in a domestic dispute etc and missing no games.So many more examples every year.
Rice is a poster boy, not an outlier.Hes a scapegoat for a billion dollar baby.

[briwas101]

Ray Rice isnt 100% toast, but he will have to work hard practicing without a team and he will need to say and do the right things for a year at least. Even then it would only earn him a short-term chance.

If some team signs him a year or two from now tbey need to be 100% confident that his on-field production will be worth all the extreme negative publicity.

With his poor 2013 performance and his sparring session with his fiancé/wife it would take a unique situation for a team to view it as a worthwhile gamble.

Personally I hope he is done.

I am tired of people getting to make hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars while committing crimes that would put the rest of us behind bars.

There are probably 100+ players in the nfl who are guilty of heinous acts that should put them in jail, and the nfl would be just fjne without them.

There are always hungry young men who will gladly get an opportunity to show they belong in the nfl (or nba, mlb...) if given the chance.

As a league, their motto should be "next man up".

[RiverDog]

I'm not going to be too hard on the victim in this case. We don't know her background (or at least I don't) people who come from abusive homes usually find way to repeat the cycle of trauma. The same way girls with absentee fathers tend to seek out father figures in their romantic life and women who were sexually abused when they were young are often attracted most to men who are of very low moral character. If she comes from a background like that and has never gone through the therapeutic process I can completely see why she "stood by her man".

Let's not speculate about the backgrounds of people we don't know. Rather, let's frame the issue according to the backgrounds of people/families that we do know. Our own families.

Suppose that was your daughter that took such a brutal beating, and she later came up to you and told you that she still wanted to marry him, have his children, etc? What would your thoughts be? Would you turn handsprings, give her a high five, and offer to pay for the wedding? Hell, no! I'd be shocked, aghast, fearful. It would be my worst nightmare come true.

I don't know about you, but what I would say to my daughter...and I have a daughter that is probably very close to the same age as the victim...would be to ask her if she nuts, out of her mind, or what. I would say or do anything in my power short of physically restraining her to keep her from marrying that scum bag. I would refuse to give my consent, refuse to pay for the wedding, I'd do anything I could to protect my little girl from what I perceive as a genuine threat to her life.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Now that she knows how violent and explosive he is and how little respect he has for her specifically and women in general, she is a fool for going back with him.

[kalibane]

I'm not going to frame it in any way River because I don't know. That's my point.

If she came from the same background as your daughter then maybe she is stupid. If she came from background that had a chaotic familial structure or sexual trauma not necessarily. Those things fundamentally change how people form attachments and their relationship dynamics.

We don't know and that's why I'm not going to pass judgment. The only one I have enough information to judge their character is Ray Rice.

[RiverDog]

I'm not going to frame it in any way River because I don't know. That's my point.

If she came from the same background as your daughter then maybe she is stupid. If she came from background that had a chaotic familial structure or sexual trauma not necessarily. Those things fundamentally change how people form attachments and their relationship dynamics.

We don't know and that's why I'm not going to pass judgment. The only one I have enough information to judge their character is Ray Rice.

My point is that wanting to go back to a man like Rice after a beating like that is not normal behavior. Something is wrong with that girl, whether you attribute this abnormality to her upbringing or not, and if she were close to you, you would have an obligation to do everything you could to help her.

[kalibane]

I agree and yet if she has a dysfunctional upbringing she may flat out not have someone close to her that will pull her aside. There may even be people close to her who encourage her to go back because of his status and wealth. It's a F***ed up world out there. Not everyone is as fortunate as you and I. Common sense is less common every day.

Stuff like this is also like having an addicted loved one. It's very difficult if not impossible to help someone who isn't ready to accept the help. Surely in your life, you've run into enough "sane" girls from "good" families who when younger stay in bad relationships with "bad" boys no matter what you say. I know I have. It's not always as simple about what the people around her say and do.

[RiverDog]

I agree and yet if she has a dysfunctional upbringing she may flat out not have someone close to her that will pull her aside. There may even be people close to her who encourage her to go back because of his status and wealth. It's a F***ed up world out there. Not everyone is as fortunate as you and I. Common sense is less common every day.

Stuff like this is also like having an addicted loved one. It's very difficult if not impossible to help someone who isn't ready to accept the help. Surely in your life, you've run into enough "sane" girls from "good" families who when younger stay in bad relationships with "bad" boys no matter what you say. I know I have. It's not always as simple about what the people around her say and do.

Yes, I have. A couple of them, and not all women, lost their lives because they stayed in an abusive relationship even when all the warning signs were very evident.

Also, from a grandfather's perspective, what kind of environment do you think your future grandkids are likely to grow up in? A pretty good reason for intervention, wouldn't you say?

[kalibane]

Great reason to attempt an intervention. I'm just saying if they aren't ready to accept help, you can move mountains and it won't matter.

[Hawktawk]

NJ state police are disputing Goodys version of events concerning the tape inside the elevator. They said the elevator tape was in the custody of the Atlantic city PD the whole time and that the NFL was well aware of its existence. I find it incredulous that a multi billion dollar organization couldn't have figured that out in oh...5 minutes. Goodell needs to be shown the door for lots of reasons but this massive lie and cover up is at the top of the list now...

[kalibane]

When will athletes figure out that the best use of your time is not going to twitter to share your thoughts on sensitive subjects?

"I don't condone hittin women or think it's coo BUT if SHE ain't trippin then I ain't trippin.. Lets keep it movin lol let that man play!"— Paul George

What a compound fracture of your leg wasn't enough misery for 2014? lol

[burrrton]

"I don't condone hittin women or think it's coo BUT if SHE ain't trippin then I ain't trippin.. Lets keep it movin lol let that man play!"— Paul George

What a compound fracture of your leg wasn't enough misery for 2014?

Yeah, betting he just unleashed the hounds on himself...