Ray Rice appealed his indefinite suspension from the NFL and today he won the appeal.
The news does not come as a surprise, as many believed the NFL punished him twice for the same violation, breaking rules established in the collective bargaining agreement. In July, the NFL levied a two-game suspension on the player for a domestic altercation with his then fiancee Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City elevator. But in September, the league decided to suspend Rice indefinitely after TMZ leaked video footage of the running back knocking out his now-wife in the elevator.
It’s not entirely fair to call it a “domestic altercation” when he slammed her to the floor and knocked her unconscious. However mutual the quarrel was, the knockout punch was in no way mutual.
The situation landed NFL in as much trouble publicly as it did Rice, with many questioning the seriousness with which the NFL takes domestic violence issues, or more generally, if it values its female audience.
Rice will be able to immediately play for a team again, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, but it’s unlikely any team will pick him up. It’s both very late in the season at this point, and Rice’s image is still tarnished.
Ah. He’s allowed to play, but that doesn’t mean anyone will want him to play.
I hope no one does.
I’m waiting for reporters to ask his new teammates how they feel about showering next to a guy who beat up his girlfriend.
Zing.
Well Shripathi, he doesn’t have new teammates…yet. He’s a free agent. I highly doubt that he will sign with another team.
Probably the team in Washington DC might try to sign him since they have nothing to lose in the PR department
People tend to get more outraged about the maltreatment of dogs than violence against women and they welcomed Vick back with open arms. My prediction? He’ll be back playing by next season (if not this one).
The NFL screwed this up from the start and has continued to screw it up. I look forward to their next screw-up!
Ibis, it’s worth pointing out that Vick actually spent time in prison and, while he was welcomed back, it certainly wasn’t with open arms; I was at the Eagles/Patriots preseason game when it leaked that we had signed Vick, and as the news spread from person to person in the stands boos rained down from the stands.
In the same week, a story came out about Darryl Talley, former Buffalo Bill of the 1990s, who now suffers dementia, depression and other medical problems. He and his family are near bankrupt because of medical expenses, and the NFL has refused to fulfil its contractual agreement on his pension.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/broke-and-broken-20141126
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24846391/bills-fans-raising-money-for-former-lb-darryl-talley
Does the NFL resist paying Talley because he doesn’t have a record of assaulting his wife and family? Because he isn’t committing criminal acts that embarrass the league more than the league embarrasses itself?
@ Ibis3:
Re: the Vick re-acceptance, there was at least a minimal effort to show that Vick felt remorse, and he did some PSAs about animal cruelty, donated money to some shelters, etc. I don’t recall being very impressed at the time, but at least it was more than that awful joint “apology”.
Also what theman1086 said: I think it was easier to buy into the idea that Vick had actually suffered consequences for his action, since he actually went to jail instead of getting a pre-trial intervention solely due to his status.