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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Ray Rice released by Ravens/suspended indefinitely by NFL

Right move by the Ravens and the NFL.  The thing that bothers me is that the NFL should have really taken the lead in this matter.  Goodell wants to come across as this disciplinarian but he admittedly botched this matter.  The NFL is denying they saw the full video prior to TMZ Sports releasing it yesterday but I find that hard to believe.  Goodell reacted to the public’s reaction to the video and Baltimore’s lead in releasing Rice.  Goodell needs to do better.  Frankly, he should go ahead and have a press conference on this matter now to admit to his shortcomings and get it out of the way because I’m sure it will be what reporters will want to talk to him about.  So instead of having them hound him where ever he goes, just get it out there.

As far as Rice, his career is probably over.  He’ll be turning 28 in January and his body has taken a lot of wear and tear over the years and he showed signs of decline last season.  Given that outside of a few elite RBs, that position seems like it can be filled with multiple, younger backs, I don’t think people will want to add Rice to their roster.  The backlash on Rice and the team he signs with would be too great a distraction.  Who will want to deal with an aging RB showing signs of decline coupled with that type of distraction?  No one. 

From a social perspective, people love a scandal and a scapegoat.  They love to pile on.  Rice doesn’t deserve any sympathy for his actions but he was dumb enough to get caught.  There are a number of other athletes that commit the same crime but in private.  Seems like the right thing to do is make more awareness to athletes and even the general public on the issues of domestic violence.  Instead of only vilifying this one athlete and waiting for the next scandal, why not take this opportunity to educate and bring awareness to the issue.  Just my two cents. 

2 comments:

deepie said...

What's that I smell? Smells like a an S-storm and its hanging right over Roger Goodell's head. The commish better be ready for some serious backlash because it looks like he royally f'd this situation up. Sources are now saying that they have recorded evidence that the NFL's offices did in fact receive the elevator video back in April. If so, why didn't Goodell see it? Accountability goes all the way up the totem pole and I don't see how Roger can weasel his way out of this.

Mark Schlereth had some interesting comments following the news of Rice's suspension. He spoke about defending the NFL shield and what it stands for. He clearly felt like Goodell failed to uphold the principles that the NFL is supposed to uphold. I'm sure he's not the only former/current player who feels this way. The backlash will undoubtedly come from all sides and the NFL could be in for some trouble.

j, k, and s's d said...

Goodell should be safe UNLESS it is proven that he viewed the full tape or even had access to the full tape months ago.

The thing is Goodell is supposed to be a disciplinarian. He suspended Sean Payton just for being associated with Gregg Williams and the whole bounty gate incident. As I remember, Payton said he didn't know the full extent of the bounties but he was guilty by association. That being the case, Goodell should hold himself up to the same standards.

I think this Rice thing is getting way too much play but two thoughts:

1. Goodell should quit/be fired if it is determined he knew about the full tape months ago and is lying to us.

2. Instead of people piling on and enjoying this scandal, use it as an opportunity to correct the problem. All people do is talk about it and want to drag people down but not correct it and then they wait for the next scandal so they can do the same.