Sick Nasty Beets
Man this Ray Rice thing has gotten worse in ways I was hoping it wouldn’t. I was hoping for a nice long suspension and everyone going “yup go away you wife beating turd”. Nope. The NFL gives him two games off and the aftermath of this short suspension brings out catastrophic opinion waggling across the sports community.
Rice deserves more than 2 games off. He beat his GF (now wife!) unconscious and dragged her around. A lot of people have come to the NFL’s defense on this, and while I can kind of see where they are coming from I just don’t get it. The obvious problem here is that Rice is getting 2 games off for domestic abuse while other players are getting 4 games for things like Adderall. In the case of Josh Gordon, he’s getting a year off for smoking weed again. Doesn’t there seem like a problem here? Why is someone who domestically abusing people getting fewer games off than someone who took a drug?
There are some severe problems with NFL policies here. There just doesn’t feel like a fair punishment. A lot of people are pointing to this being Rice’s first offense, and that it was an incident that does not affect the NFL at all. He punched out his wife, he didn’t beat up another player, nor did he take steroids which would give him advantages over other players. This was an outside the league event. I think that argument is crap.
The NFL has never been shy about punishing players for conduct detrimental to the league, even if said incident has nothing to do with the league. The NFL wants upstanding citizens, or least the appearance of them. The league is all about keeping up appearances (which makes the short Rice suspension even weirder) and players doing stupid things reflects badly on the league because it makes the league look like they willingly complicit in harboring terrible people. I mean, they do, but they are usually pretty good about stomping out immediate threats to that identity. For the ultimate case against Rice I want to present his rival Ben Reothlisberger. Big Ben got 4 games (Reduced from 6!) for his rape. Oh wait, he was never convicted. He was never arrested. He settled out of court. We don’t know if Big Ben raped that girl or not. We like to joke that he did, but none of us actually know for sure. The point is the NFL didn’t care whether he did or not, they suspended him anyway because it made the league look bad. Almost half a season, but at least a quarter of a season. Yet Ray Rice gets 2 games less? Rice deserved 4 games minimum. 4 games should be minimum for something like this. Ben got 4 games years ago, and the NFL is more committed to appearances now, so why is Rice getting less? It makes no sense. I expected the NFL to very publicly shame the hell out of him. When Big Ben got in trouble, Goodell wrote a very public statement about him. Yet the Rice situation has been pretty quiet coming from the source.
On top of that, yes it is a first offense, but it’s a doozy. The NFL has policies that make it more harmful to your career to take adderall or smoke weed a few times than to punch out your GF, and that just feels dirty. I think that is where the anger is coming from. Maybe Rice is getting a fair shake via NFL policy, but that just seems to show how terrible the policies are in the first place.
My understanding (and feel free to correct me if I have misinformation), is that his girlfriend-not-wife was attacking him first, hands/nails to the face kinda stuff. Do I think that Rice went too far? Probably, though I know in the one fight I’ve been in with a gal (she was drunk, schizophrenic, and had a knife, so not really the same situation, but still), I didn’t really check myself to make sure I wasn’t using too much force on her. Rice’s instincts are “all or nothing”, and if that got triggered, then yeah. I would give him the 2 game suspension for dragging her around, because holy crap that gave the league a bad image, but I’d feel awful crappy about suspending a guy for acting in instinctive self-defense.
If that information is wrong, and Rice knocked her out without her getting physical first, then he should be banned for the season.
Can’t ban for the season–CBA allows only 4 weeks for acts detrimental to the club. It’s also a first offense. The league is legally obligated. Knocking her out can’t have been necessary, but I think he got just 2 games b/c she was charged with assault too. We’ll see what happens with Greg Hardy.
I can’t get away from this stuff because I live about an hour out of Baltimore, and from what I understand, a lot of the basis of it only being two games comes from
A. An extended video that was viewed by Goodell that wasn’t publicly disclosed that shows stuff that happened before the elevator video we’ve all seen. Since it’s still under lock and key, we don’t know what’s on it. Maybe it shows her wailing on him, him shoving her, and her falling unconscious because, if I recall, both were intoxicated according to police, and drunk people pass out easy. Maybe it shows them walking along, then she says something and he flips out and decks her. Either way, we don’t know, but the people deciding the suspension did.
B. The fact they’ve married since. Before someone comes in and says that this was to make it so she could plead the fifth and not testify against him(Legally in most states a married couple is a single legal entity, so a wife can’t be forced to testify against her husband and vice versa), that’s not the case in New Jersey, where the trial happened. In NJ, you can still be subpoenaed to testify against your spouse, ergo, there was no reason to get married for trial purposes, so the fact they married in spite of the judgement is worth note.
C. Rice’s wife apparently gave a very strong argument in their meeting with the commish in defense of Rice. If the victim goes to the defense of the perpetrator, then it’s hard to make a solid argument to come down hard on the perpetrator.
With that said, I still think that two games for punching someone out is nonsense. Man, woman, adult, child, I don’t care, there’s no excuse for using violence on someone that isn’t posing a serious threat to you, which, even if she did start the fight and was beating on him, she’s a normal everyday person and he’s the pinnacle of muscle and fitness you need to be to play RB in the NFL, she couldn’t have if she wanted. He needs to have control there.
I’m not here to defend Rice, I’m just saying that we don’t know all the facts, and there may be legitimate reasoning for the short suspension.
I hate argument B… because women never marry their abusers? There is no way to know if this is the first time, but whether it is or not the assumption that because a woman marries the guy that it wasn’t a big deal is utter bull.
Thing is, if there are more legitimate reasons for the short suspension, why don’t we know them? Like I said, the NFL loves to keep up appearances and if they are withholding info that would make them look less terrible I don’t understand why. People are furious at the NFL for this and all they’d need is a little extra time to explain themselves. They’d be viewed better. Rice would be viewed better. Everything would be better. The redemption press stories could start and minds would be changed. But none of that is happening. Instead he gets a quiet 2 game suspension and we know very little.
That’s what worries me. It looks like an attempt to push something dirty under the rug.
Why don’t we know them? When do we ever know them? If the league makes everything transparent, they’ll have to do it for *every investigation thereafter*. They sure don’t want that.
I do have an idea why it isn’t being brought to light. Because Ray Rice doesn’t want it to. What if evidence is released that makes his wife look horrible? They were both drunk. Who knows what she may have done? She was originally charged, just like Ray Rice. My guess is that they both made terrible mistakes that night. And now they want to support and love each other as much as possible.
I personally know people who have met Ray Rice. He’s genuine. I think he understands his mistake, (and is paying dearly for it. Missed games, endorsements, reputation), but he doesn’t want his wife’s image dragged through the mud like his own. So he is taking it on the chin, (like a man, (and not appealing, by the way)), and he is gonna get back to work; on the football field, and on his relationship with his wife.
We may never know what happened. I guess we might be better judges 5 to 10 years from now and when looking seeing how their marriage is fairing.
League probably also doesn’t want to keep it relevant by continuing to give content to talk about with it. Every NFL game is the biggest media spectacle in the world. Preseason games get bigger ratings than the world series, the NBA finals, or the Stanley Cup. The hall of fame induction and game are this weekend, and the league doesn’t want this hanging over the preseason. The league making a statement or releasing more info gives more fodder that’s more interesting and keeps it more relevant than preseason bubble players. In two weeks ESPN is going to be much more interested in Johnny Manziel’s preseason performance and what Jadeveon Clowney does or gossiping about the Falcons on Hard Knocks than in any of this, and that’s exactly what the league wants.
One thing I’d like to add is that, while I think two games is too light, I also believe that Rice deserves a chance to prove this was the exception, not the standard. I thought Michael Vick was genuinely contrite, and even as a dog lover, I thought he deserved a second chance. I thought Donte Stallworth was sincere in the wake of his DUI vehicular manslaughter, and even though I’d knock my best friend unconscious and take his keys from him before I let him drive drunk, I thought he deserved his second chance. Third chances I’m not so kind with, but I believe that people do change, and I believe that Rice deserves a chance to prove that this isn’t the real Ray Rice.
Wanted to add that because I’ve seen so many people completely defending him or completely disowning him. I’m disappointed and thought he deserved at least four games, but I also think he deserves a chance to prove that this isn’t who he is.
He won’t make it past week three anyways >:)
Domestic violence is a big issue in the NFL, and all of the pink gloves, ribbons, and tacky pink jerseys isn’t going to make up for the fact that they aren’t doing enough to address it. I’ve been a fan my entire life, and watching both the Ravens’ and the NFL’s response to Rice’s actions makes me sick, especially as a female fan.
Yes, she hit him and he should have reacted appropriately, because men shouldn’t put up with abuse either. His response was far from appropriate. I have no respect for her either, for marrying (and defending) the man who was twice her size and thought it was ok to knock her the hell out instead of restraining her when he was capable of doing so.
Until there are real consequences in the league for players who are violent off the field, the violence will continue. It doesn’t help that there are fans that continue to defend these players and their disgusting actions.
I’m not saying domestic violence isn’t a problem– it is. And it’s about as commonly initiated by women as by men. With that said, the NFL has a dramatically lower rate (even accounting for non-reports because $$$), than America as a whole, let alone the demographics-of-origin for the majority of NFL players. And this doesn’t seem so much like the poster case to hang the “I’m sick” banner on. From what we know, she started it…. if he grabbed her head and slammed into the elevator, or hit her more than once, or the like, then yeah. He should get the max. But it doesn’t sound like he hit her more than once, and while I appreciate people’s lack of knowledge of violence, you really don’t know what it’ll take to get someone to stop attacking you, and if you knock a drunk person once in the jaw and it knocks them out… that’s really not something I look at and think, “Man, he’s a thug.” He didn’t drop her afterwards, he brought her out of the elevator, and seemed to ask for help.
The NFL has done more to stop domestic violence than either major political party… they get props from me, not condemnation, because really… they are less a problem than the media makes them out to be, and are far, far better about dealing with it than the vast majority of individuals and organizations with similar $$$ or exposure to deal with the issue.
What has me mostly annoyed, is that Goodell’s (and the NFL’s) policies and suspensions have seemed so out of line with reality that I really can’t look at this and trust that the assumptions that she started it– and was continuing it– and that he hit her once to stop is are legit. They have no banked credit of common sense or legitimacy to fall back on and have me be able to look at this and not feel like there’s a chance I’m defending a turd burger… which I really don’t want to do.
Again, I’m not excusing domestic violence in the NFL– it’s never right, no matter where it happens. But to look at a group of people who, on the whole, are far better (in regards to that issue, at least), than the general population, than their demographics, or especially their demographics-of-origin, and say “The violence will continue” seems a bit sensationalist and reactionary.
Um…the pink is for breast cancer, not domestic abuse. The NFL cares about t*tties, not black-eye Susan. 🙁
As a frequent attendee of Ravens training camp, Ray seems like one of the nicer guys. I wouldnt let one horrific incident judge the guy. His wife forgave him and he acted appropriately with Authorities and took the needed programs to find the issue. Keep in mind this guy played tackle football on concrete as 10 year old in the ghetto. This guys Dad was gunned down in front of him. He loves kids from what we know. I think he was bound to snap at some point, and I cant blame him. What he did to her was wrong, but I think we cant really start judging the guy unless we look at his background.
So a bad childhood is an excuse for violence against someone else?
Team can always suspend him too under the CBA…. just saying.
I think B Marshall only got a one game suspension when he hit his GF, so why is everyone upset Rice only got 2? I seriously don’t get it.
Like I’ve said before, I don’t know how so many people so critical haven’t seen this information, but Janay was attacking Ray in the elevator and he struck her twice. She then proceeded to fall from impact and hit her head on the rail. People are making it out like he beat her half to death! All he did was defend himself. I could understand if he ACTUALLY beat her unconscious, but he didn’t. She fell out due to hitting her head after he decided to defend himself. Ray is actually a very upstanding guy due to literally EVERYTHING else said about him besides this situation. They were drunk and dumb and both in the wrong, plain and simple. The suspension he got was fair.
Obviously he only got a couple of weeks because he didn’t do anything really bad, like smoking The Reefer.