Ray Rice Fired By Ravens, Suspended Indefinitely By NFL’s Front Office
Former NFL star Ray Rice got what was coming to him on Monday, when the league suspended him indefinitely, and the Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract.
Rice was originally suspended for two games, after he was charged with assaulting his wife and knocking her out after a hard punch. On Monday TMZ leaked an elevator video that showed Ray Rice not only starting the assault, but ending it with a strong blow to his girlfriend head. After the punch Rice can be seen dragging her limp body from the scene of the crime.
Immediately following the video’s release, the Ravens fired Rice, ending his remaining three-year contract which included $ 9.5 million in salary, $ 9 million in signing bonuses and an additional $ 5.2 million in performance bonuses. Rice’s contract likely included terms regarding his personal off-field conduct, terms that were violated when he viciously beat his wife.
Rice was charged with felony assault in March, but his soon-to0-be wife Janay Palmer, refused to testify against him. Instead, Rice was charged with a reduced court-supervised counseling program. In July, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed down a two-game suspension against the star running back. Critics were quick to point out that marijuana smokers have been suspended for an entire season, while Ray Rice knocked out his wife and was only handed a two-game suspension.
In a letter to team owners, Goodell acknowledged that he made a mistake in handing Ray Rice a simple two-game suspension. Speaking about the new video, a league spokesman revealed, “no one in our office has seen it until today.”
Under recently enacted terms, the NFL has promised to suspend first time domestic abuse offenders for at least six games, while second-time offenders would be guaranteed no less than a one year league suspension.
Following the original incident, the Baltimore Ravens chose to stand beside their star player, and instead tweeted a semi-apology from his wife: “Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident.” Head coach John Harbaugh also stood with his star running back, and Raven’s fans gave him a huge standing ovation during the preseason.
After the league suspended Rice for an “indefinite period of time” the following message was released:
“Commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that based on the new video evidence that became available today, he has imposed an indefinite suspension on Ray Rice.”
The NFL Players Association has remained quiet about the incident. While the NFLPA is charged with protecting players, it appears that the video evidence against Ray Rice was too toxic for even the players union to defend.
The NFL’s front office has promised to look further into the processes currently used to determine if a player should be suspended, removed from the league, and possibly face further financial penalties.
In the meantime, the Baltimore Ravens are now going to suffer through the 2014-2015 NFL season without their star running back.
[Photo Credit: Wallstreethotrod]
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