Does Ray Rice Deserve A Second Chance?

Image Credit: www.usatoday.com

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

Ray Rice has done something almost unprecedented. He beat a Roger Goodell suspension. Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely after a video of an assault on his wife, (then fiancé) was leaked, which may have been justified. However considering that, he's already been punished, which is not right. Of course Roger Goodell claimed he was lied to or misled. On Friday, Judge Barbara Jones ruled that Goodell was wrong and made the suspension arbitrarily. So Ray Rice is now an NFL player, what does that mean though?

It means Rice can move past this ugly in incident and focus on himself, his family, and his career. Before this incident, Rice had been a law-abiding citizen and loved by people who knew him. Nothing speaks more to Rice’s character than right after the incident, while his high school removed his jersey from its walls, current students questioned the decision. Also, while the Ravens allowed fans to exchange his jersey, some fans still showed their support of Rice and wore his jersey to the games. After the decision, Rice even had two former teammates tweet their support. Rice was clearly well liked and have never been in the news before for criminal activities, and clearly he made a huge mistake, which he acknowledged. Rice is sorry and ready to get back to football. People may have forgotten but before the incident, Rice was an all-pro, championship winning running back. Who will give him a shot? The biggest rumor has been the Indianapolis Colts because of the injuries to Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson isn’t living up to expectations, could use a running back for their playoff run.

Aside from Rice, there's Roger Goodell. Roger Goodell has ruled the NFL with almost an iron fist. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ players in 2011, during the lockout, chose not to ratify the new CBA because Goodell gets to be the judge, jury, and sometimes executioner. This was overlooked at the time, but now it seems smart, and maybe Rice and the New Orleans Saints understand. It’s easy to overdose on power, and Goodell has overdosed. With this decision, it shows how much of a snake Goodell can be, as he lied to cover himself. While I respect what he tries to do, the NFL needs a system of checks and balances.

This decision was the right thing to do. Even the constitution won’t let a man be punished twice, so no way should the NFL be allowed to use double jeopardy to save face.

The NFL Is Losing Money Because Of Suspensions? Wait just ONE second...

Image Credit: NYDailyNews.com

By: Kai Jones

Since 2012, the NFL has dealt with a major scandal every season. In 2012, it was the New Orleans Saints with Bountygate. In 2013, it was the Dolphins with Bullygate. This year, it has been multiple incidents: most famously Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Josh Gordon. The NFL suspension list has increased since Commissioner Roger Goodell came into office. In 2005, Ricky Williams was the only player suspended. In 2006, Goodell’s inaugural year as commissioner, it jumped to seven players suspended throughout the year. The number has seemingly increased almost every year, as Goodell tries to hold the players to a higher standard. But this year over 40 players have been suspended. That does not include Ray Rice who has been nearly erased from anything NFL related. Also does not include Peterson, who was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for allegedly abusing his son; or Greg Hardy who was also placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for his ongoing domestic violence case.

It seems like the NFL cannot avoid bad publicity this year, as the St. Louis Rams received outrage because they cut the first openly gay player: Michael Sam. Many believed he was cut for being gay. The Dallas Cowboys picked him up as a favor to the league, so the league could avoid more bad publicity as they were dealing with the backlash of Ray Rice’s domestic violence case. Sam was cut two days ago, and the league avoided the LGBT community’s backlash that they had began to receive after the Rams cut him. Other than that incident, it seems like the league’s image has taken a hit at almost every other angle. From having to suspend Josh Brent for intoxication manslaughter (a case from 2012) to Josh Gordon for drug abuse: but does it matter?

With all these suspensions and outrage from various groups you would think the NFL would be hit where it hurts (the wallet), right? Nope, the Super Bowl rematch received a 44 percent increase in TV ratings from the Super Bowl game, and Monday Night’s matchup between the Texans and Steelers received better TV ratings than MLB’s World Series Game 1. The NFL has moral issues, but do the owners really care considering their wallets aren’t hurt? Probably not, but do the fans care? Probably not, but Commissioner Goodell doesn’t care as long as he can flex his iron fist and receive his paycheck. It seems we all turn a blind eye to the shortcomings of these athletes. Even though these athletes play a gladiator sport, but at the end of the day they are just humans and make mistakes: so grab a beer and watch football since we all have our vices, even millionaire athletes. 

More on Ray Rice, TMZ, The NFL and more.

If you've worked in a corporate environment, you know something ain't right about this Ray Rice video story. If you've worked in a union, you know several things aren't right. I know if you've followed this story, you've heard enough, but let's approach this from a new angle. The only angle that really matters to all the players involved: money.

Easy part first. Who wanted this second video released? TMZ. They get hits on their webpage, ad money, prestige. This furthers their ability to scoop in the future. Everyone is mentioning TMZ when this story comes up . Simple. They make more money.

Back to my original point. Who stands to lose? EVERYONE else involved. Everyone. The NFL, the NFLPA (the players' union), the Baltimore Ravens, and yes, even the casino.

One at a time: The casino wants celebrities to come spend money and get away with things celebrities get away with, anonymously. The release of the elevator video is bad for the casino.

The Baltimore Ravens did nothing to Rice, letting the league handle his discipline. They even held a very mismanaged press conference, standing behind Rice. They looked like they care more about performance on the field than they do taking a stand against a violent, criminal offender, because they do. Had Rice been third on the depth chart, he'd have been immediately released.

The NFLPA surely requested any evidence the NFL received relevant to the punishment of Rice. That's what unions do. It's called due process. Nobody in a union has ever been punished without union representation.  The NFLPA has a problem on its hands with players getting arrested. No one cares when a couple of guys smoke pot on their way to the airport. Anyone who watched this video and doesn't care is sub-human. They didn't want this video released. They HAVE to defend Rice. Notice their silence through this whole affair.

Enough has been said of Godell's mishandling of this situation. He made a bad decision early and stood by it. Whether he saw the second video or not is irrelevant. He probably didn't so he could truthfully say he didn't. He is a lawyer. He has the resources to get it, and the responsibility to see it as the judge and jury responsible for player discipline.

Godell, the NFL, the Ravens, and everyone else involved counted on one thing. There was too much money at stake for everyone involved to let the video leak. They failed to realize that everything leaks now. If there's a digital copy - an email, text, or video, in this case, it WILL eventually get out. 

It's up to us to decide how to react to this. Let's face it. Most of us will forget in a few weeks. My only hope is this advances awareness of the societal acceptance of domestic violence. It's not just never okay to hit a woman. It's never okay to hit a man. Let's follow some basic guidelines we learned in kindergarten.  If Rice did, if Godell did, we'd be talking about football players playing football right now. And trust me, I'd much rather do that.

By: Josh Henderson

Twitter: @verybadwrong

Former Baltimore Ravens Player Ray Rice Suspended Indefinitely From NFL!

PHOTO CREDIT: thebaltimoresun.com 

On the afternoon of Monday, September 8, 2014 former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice had indefinitely been suspended by the NFL and officially released from the infamous Maryland team. The issue surfaced when a video was revealed nationally of Rice intentionally knocking his girlfriend unconscious in an elevator. After TMZ surfaced the elevator footage of Beyonce, Jay Z, and Solange's fiasco in May, in reference to the incident Beyonce quotes in her Flawlessremix, “Of course sometimes sh*t goes down when it’s a billion dollars on an elevator!”  it would have been a smart decision of Rice to leave his poor choice of actions in private. 

Not to necessarily say that I consort with his actions, but with so much at stake, the Baltimore Ravens second draft pick of 2008 has now left his career in shambles! Due to an arrest and indictment of third-degree assault made on May 28, 2014 stating that he allegedly punched, his fiancé, now wife Janay Palmer in the face, Rice has put a burden on himself that will be hard to fix. Whether he potentially knew what he was getting himself into when performing that mighty blow towards his lover or not is beyond the issue at this tip, the NFL has shown no mercy. 

It seems as if no one will let up from the situation as of today and to be quite realistic, this is an issue that will leave Rice little to no room to prosper. With the NFL standing for more than just throwing a ball into a spiral motion in the air, they’ve molded their players into potential role models and leaders. Surely if something happens in which a player is not abiding to certain policies, consequences will be dealt. 

In May, Rice entered a pretrial intervention leading the charges to be expunged within a year and a prosecution not being made. Many will seek to ensure that issues will be handled in a proper manner while others will oppose the decisions that have been made. Despite what others may feel, Rice has demanded the necessary steps to go ahead by entering counseling with his wife to go out their publications. He knows his actions as inexcusable, but considers that nothing further can be done if he does not set out to lead his household and himself in a confident way. 

Although Ray Rice has done a fearful affair, we must not forget that he is in fact a human. Everyone makes mistakes, but domestic violence is surely nothing to be toiled with, especially in today’s society. As he proceeds to travel onward from this issue I actually hope he counts not just what he has to lose but its value in terms of his family, vocation, and deference as a person. I bid him a good face on his endeavors and hopefully we’ll be able hear about positivity from Rice in the hereafter. 

By: Alexis J. Robinson

Twitter: Theywant_BOOSIE 

NFL Commissioner Open Letter, Aldon Smith Suspension, and more.

Photo Credit: www.twitter.com/nfl

This week in Football...

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized on Thursday for his decision in the Ray Rice domestic abuse case. In a letter to NFL owners, Goodell announced the changes to the league's Personal Conduct Policy. 

The letter stated the violations of the Personal Conduct Policy in regards of assault, battery, domestic violence and sexual assault. A second offense, results into banishment from the NFL for a year. 

This applies to all personnel of the NFL, not just players. In the letter, Goodell addresses his failing in pior domestic violence situations. 

"At times, however, and despite our best efforts, we fall short of our goals. We clearly did so in response to a recent incident of domestic violence. We allowed our standards to fall below where they should be and lost an important opportunity to emphasize our strong stance on a critical issue and the effective programs we have in place. My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families. I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values. I didn't get it right. Simply put, we have to do better. And we will." 

In other news, The San Francisco 49ers plans without Aldon Smith will come in affect due to his suspension. 

After violating the league's policy on personal conduct and substances of abuse, Smith will be eligible to return for the Week 11 game against the New York Giants. 

General manager Trent Baalke stated, "Our organization has known this decision would come and we have prepared for it as a team.Aldon has taken responsibility for his actions and has continued to show growth personally and professionally. We will continue to support him, but it is time to put this matter behind us and focus on the season ahead." 

The suspension is for four games which includes breaking the rules for substance of abuse and five games for violating the personal conduct policy. 

However, Smith is still allowed to be around the 49ers facilities during his suspension in which the team wanted. 

As the No. 7 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Smith is the fastest player in league to record 30 sacks (27 games).

Kateri Fischer

@katikiii