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Ray Rice arrested on domestic violence charge

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Just one correction: The way the legal system works in NC is bunk. Hardy was indicted. Yes, technically a judge found him guilty, but that's how it works in NC. That means he is indicted and now is going to a jury trial.

 

Thats how it works most places. You have a case before trial and after the decision you have a chance to appeal with a jury of your peers. That is not out of the ordinary. Trial is for people who have money to last long enough to have something go wrong in their favor.

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I got absolutely destroyed by someone I was having a conversation with because they felt what I said about it not being right for the NFL to dole out a new indefinite suspension - was basically me not being sensitive enough to domestic violence. That's not the case for me. I can say without a doubt he SHOULD have been suspended for the year, it gets the point across that it's not ok to be involved in this sort of thing. But why should the NFL have the power to change their ruling as they feel? I mean, they changed direction on this with one foul swoop. It was the flip of the switch.

yeah, I think this is spot on, there's nothing wrong with the ultimate punishment, but the way they reached it was all kinds of fucked up

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The NFLPA has officially filed an appeal on Ray Rice's indefinite suspension.

"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," reads the statement. It's just a formality at this point. Rice's hearing should be held within 10 days. Even if his suspension is reduced, Rice won't be playing in the NFL this season.

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According to an investigative reporter from ESPN, the Ravens knew about the situation immediately and were granted "leniency" by Goodell. Also, Harbaugh tried having Rice released after the first video and was turned down.

 

ESPN video:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:11554223

 

 

SBNation article regarding the report (I would bold things, but it's all pretty damning and relevant):

 

The Baltimore Ravens organization may not have actually seen the infamous second video from within the elevator showing Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee, but within hours of Rice's arrest it had received a detailed description of the footage, according to a report by ESPN's Outside the Lines. The Ravens then asked for leniency from the NFL, and were granted it by Roger Goodell as a "favor" to the owner.

 

Ravens director of security Darren Sanders phoned the Atlantic City police shortly after Rice's Feb. 15 arrest, according to the report. He was then given a play-by-play of the surveillance video by a police officer, who told Sanders he was a Ravens fan. Sanders then relayed that information to the team executives in Baltimore.

 

In early April, the Ravens reportedly contacted Rice's attorney, Michael J. Diamondstein, who had by then seen the second video. He allegedly told team president Dick Cass that the footage was "f---ing horrible." Contrary to claims made by owner Steve Bisciotti, the team never requested the video from Diamondstein.

 

Outside the Lines, which spoke to more than 20 sources while building the report, claims that the Ravens in turn requested NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to give Rice a punishment of no more than two games. Goodell reportedly granted that request -- Rice was indeed initially suspended for two games -- "as a favor to his good friend Bisciotti."

 

The report does not indicate that Goodell or other league officials ever saw the video, something the commissioner reiterated in his Friday press conference. Goodell has repeatedly claimed that the account of the incident given to him by Rice was "inconsistent" with what the video showed.

 

Outside the Lines claims that Bisciotti, Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome, after being debriefed on the incident, "began extensive public and private campaigns pushing for leniency for Rice."

 

The prosecution initially refused a pretrial intervention deal for Rice, but changed its mind after receiving 30 letters written on Rice's behalf, some of which were from Ravens execs.

 

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/9/19/6562983/ravens-ray-rice-cover-up-roger-goodell-nfl-outside-the-lines

Edited by Zack_of_Steel

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that actually made me respect Harbaugh a lot, but it's pretty damning for all others involved

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I am not sure what is worse.... The actions of Biscotti and other Ravens decision makers or Roger Goodell for going lenient in the first place deliberately as a favor to that same group of disgusting people.

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Long read of the entire story from the beginning:

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nfl

 

 

Minutes later, Rice's phone buzzed. He could scarcely believe what he was looking at-- back-to-back text messages from Bisciotti. Rice read them aloud so everyone in the room could hear them:

 

Hey Ray, just want to let you know, we loved you as a player, it was great having you here. Hopefully all these things are going to die down. I wish the best for you and Janay.

 

When you're done with football, I'd like you to know you have a job waiting for you with the Ravens helping young guys getting acclimated to the league.

 

Rice was flabbergasted. One minute Bisciotti and the Ravens were essentially calling him a liar, the next Bisciotti was quietly offering him a job? Rice took a screen shot of the message, but Jakobe reminded him that anyone could send the text and simply change the name in the contacts to "Steve Bisciotti" to make it appear it had come from the Ravens owner. So Rice deleted Bisciotti's name in his contacts and took a second screen shot of his phone, leaving only the message and the cellphone number. That way there could be no denying who had sent it. "I saw the text; [friend] Courtney Greene saw the text; and Ray actually read it out loud to us," Jakobe said. "I saw it probably more than anybody." One of Rice's friends provided the text's content to "Outside the Lines," which confirmed through two independent sources that the number listed belongs to a cellphone regularly used by Bisciotti. A few days later, after thinking about it more, Rice told friends he believed Bisciotti was suggesting that, as long as he kept quiet and stuck to the story that he had misled team officials and Goodell about what had happened in the elevator, the Ravens would take care of him down the road. He felt incredibly insulted.

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It's an extremely damning picture of how this was handled, and I tell ya what, I believe it, even though we don't know for sure and probably never will.

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Ray Rice's appeal of his indefinite suspension has been set for November 5-6.

CBS' Jason La Canfora reported Sunday that Rice is viewed as having an "exceedingly strong" case, and could be reinstated by mid-November. Rice maintains that he didn't lie about his domestic-violence arrest in his initial interview with commissioner Roger Goodell, and believes he shouldn't have been subject to more than a six-game ban. Rice should have resolution in little more than two weeks.

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Is anyone even going to touch him this year? Ever?

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I truly hope not. I am surprised that he would be such a douche considering what he had done.

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I truly hope not. I am surprised that he would be such a douche considering what he had done.

Donte Stallworth got back on a team.

 

Is domestic violence worse than killing a man, albeit unintentionally, but while driving drunk?

 

I find the NFL's reaction to this to be extremely hypocritical. They have no issues with having someone who is convicted of manslaughter return to the league, but because its such a hot-button issue in the political realm, in order to cover their collective backsides, none of them will let Rice play ever again?

 

Sure what he did was horrible, but I find it hard to argue that its worse than things other NFL players have done that were allowed back in the league.

Edited by Thanatos19
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I truly hope not. I am surprised that he would be such a douche considering what he had done.

he has a really good argument, particularly with the number of players who have been put on the Commissioner's Exempt list, and are still collecting a paycheck, since he was cut

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Donte Stallworth got back on a team.

 

Is domestic violence worse than killing a man, albeit unintentionally, but while driving drunk?

 

I find the NFL's reaction to this to be extremely hypocritical. They have no issues with having someone who is convicted of manslaughter return to the league, but because its such a hot-button issue in the political realm, in order to cover their collective backsides, none of them will let Rice play ever again?

 

Sure what he did was horrible, but I find it hard to argue that its worse than things other NFL players have done that were allowed back in the league.

 

No it is not, but Roger's inconsistency in applying punishment is not what I am basing that off of. I am basing it off of my personal code of conduct and what I think should be applied punishment. He should not play this year if ever and should not be able to recoup monies lost.

 

As to Stallworth I am on the fence because it was unintentional, but I am leaning towards a ban because a man lost his life because of his recklessness.

 

I just think it is crazy that James Harrison will have missed as much time as both of them for playing the game the way it is supposed to be played.

Edited by Ngata_Chance
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No it is not, but Roger's inconsistency in applying punishment is not what I am basing that off of. I am basing it off of my personal code of conduct and what I think should be applied punishment. He should not play this year if ever and should not be able to recoup monies lost.

 

As to Stallworth I am on the fence because it was unintentional, but I am leaning towards a ban because a man lost his life because of his recklessness.

 

I just think it is crazy that James Harrison will have missed as much time as both of them for playing the game the way it is supposed to be played.

Now this I agree with.

 

The inconsistency is stupid. I'm merely pointing out the utter hypocrisy of the NFL, which is only concerned about Ray Rice so much because of political machinations- domestic violence is a hot-button issue, so they must be seen to be tough on it.

 

Drunk driving and killing a man? Eh, not so much.

 

And for the record, if you hit someone while drunk driving, IMO, its the same as if you fired a gun in an area you know people are in just for fun. Its reckless, irresponsible, dangerous and you know there are going to be other people on the road. Its a matter of chance whether or not someone is hurt or killed. Its not quite as bad as intentionally killing someone, but its far worse than most people seem to consider it.

Edited by Thanatos19

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http://hosted.stats.com/fb/story.asp?i=20141128151440024111708&ref=hea&tm=&src=

 

NEW YORK (AP) An arbitrator Friday threw out Ray Rice's indefinite suspension by the NFL for hitting his then-fiancee and now wife in a hotel elevator, freeing him to play again.

 

The NFL said Rice, a free agent, is "eligible to play upon signing a new contract." Whether any team will consider signing him is another matter.

 

Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones said Commissioner Roger Goodell's decision in September to change Rice's original suspension from two games to indefinite was "arbitrary" and an "abuse of discretion."

 

Jones was deciding whether the NFL overstepped its authority in modifying Rice's two-game suspension after video of the Baltimore Ravens running back punching Janay became public.

 

Rice was released by the Ravens when the video went public. Rice and the union contended he was essentially sentenced twice, and Jones agreed, saying Rice "did not lie to or mislead the NFL."

 

She noted in her decision that after Goodell increased the punishment for a first offense under the personal conduct policy from two to six games, "the commissioner called Rice to assure him that the new policy would not affect him - that it was forward-looking and his penalty would not be increased."

 

The punishment changed, though, after the video was released.

 

In her decision, Jones also wrote:

 

"Because Rice did not mislead the commissioner and because there were no new facts on which the commissioner could base his increased suspension, I find that the imposition of the indefinite suspension was arbitrary. I therefore vacate the second penalty imposed on Rice.

 

"The provisions of the first discipline - those regarding making continued use of counseling and other professional services, having no further involvement with law enforcement, and not committing any additional violations of league policies - still stand."

 

The NFL said it accepted the decision.

 

"We respect Judge Jones's decision to reinstate Ray Rice from his indefinite suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy in an incident of domestic violence," spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email to The Associated Press.

 

"Ray Rice is a free agent and has been eligible to be signed by an NFL team since he was released by the Ravens. Based on Judge Jones' decision, he will be eligible to play upon signing a new contract."

 

But Rice has not played all season, and was coming off a weak 2013 season. And there is the immeasurable public relations issues that could accompany any team signing him - this season or in the future.

 

Rice said Friday in a statement released by the players' union:

 

"I would like to thank Judge Barbara Jones, the NFL Players Association, my attorneys, agents, advisers, family, friends and fans - but most importantly, my wife Janay. I made an inexcusable mistake and accept full responsibility for my actions. I am thankful that there was a proper appeals process in place to address this issue. I will continue working hard to improve myself and be the best husband, father and friend, while giving back to my community and helping others to learn from my mistakes."

 

Goodell and the Rices testified at the hearing, as did NFL security chief Jeffrey Miller and Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome. During his appearance, Goodell told Jones: "I do accept that I have to be consistent with consistent circumstances, and ... I think that's about fairness, and fairness would be, you should be as consistent as possible in your discipline."

 

The NFL Players Association claimed a "victory for a disciplinary process that is fair and transparent" in a statement. The union called again for collective bargaining to produce a new personal conduct policy.

 

To which NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy added:

 

"Judge Jones' ruling underscores the urgency of our work to develop and implement a clear, fair and comprehensive new personal conduct policy. We expect this policy to be completed and announced in the weeks ahead. Our focus is on consistently enforcing an improved policy going forward."

 

The National Organization for Women again called for Goodell's resignation and an independent investigation into the NFL's response to domestic violence incidents.

 

"Instead of listening to the multiple domestic violence experts that have approached Goodell throughout his tenure," NOW President Terry O'Neill said in a statement, "he continues to diminish, evade, and deny the realities of the problem. Instead of working to keep Janay Rice safe, he removed economic security from her and her abuser - a known cause of increasing the risk of domestic homicide."

 

One fan in Baltimore supported Rice, but not Goodell.

 

"I don't condone what he's done, but the commissioner was way out of line," said Andrew Offord. "Double jeopardy? You can't do that. Public opinion and backlash made the NFL change its mind on the punishment and that was wrong.

 

"I think for a team in a desperate situation - not this year, but maybe next year if someone gets injured - Rice might get another shot. But I don't know if the commissioner deserves another shot."

 

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi and AP Writer Juliet Linderman contributed to this report.

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The league-commissioned Mueller Report determined the NFL never saw the video of Ray Rice knocking out his fiancée before it was publicly released on September 8.

Predictably, the "independent" report takes the tone of a wrist slapping. "We found no evidence that anyone at the NFL had or saw the in-elevator video before it was publicly shown," the report said. "We also found no evidence that a woman at the NFL acknowledged receipt of that video in a voicemail message on April 9, 2014." The report did say the league "should have done more with the info it had," and "should have taken additional steps to obtain all available information." All in all, the report doesn't change the tone of the debate, or shed any real light on what happened.
Source: ESPN.com

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