Ray Rice Video of Him Hitting Fiancee Released

Yeah, the cops deserve some of this backlash also. The nfl is now saying they requested the tape and were denied. So either way they knew there was a tape. But, back to your original point. If all the nfl had to do was pay for the video, then they chose to half *** the investigation. If they requested and were denied by police, why not keep pushing for the video before deciding ray rice's penalty?

 

or he just never thought it'd get out, because not l like businesses every try to cover up stuff.............

 

Every commissioner in sports is controversial. The level of controversy is going to be based on the league's popularity. Bud Selig let MLB become overrun with PEDs. There is literally a good portion of the league's history that will be ignored in a historical context. David Stern has repeatedly been accused of manipulating results of actual games, and the draft lottery. Literally every public figure in today's world is considered controversial.

 

Why wouldn't they pay someone at the hotel for the video? I'm not sure that is even legal, but lets assume it is. The NFL would be setting a precedent here. Everyone that has video of a player doing something would then try to leverage it for money from the league. Could you imagine the NFL paying $200k for a video where you couldnt see any of what happened? You're opening a pandora's box that opens the league and players to essentially being extorted. Not to mention that suspending Rice for a video they purchased from a hotel employee is likely going to be a big issue at the center of the NFLPA's appeal.

 

And Goodell ignored evidence that the Patriots cheated in every one of the Super Bowls. He invented the "tuck rule" to allow NE to go to the Super Bowl post-9/11. He covered up the concussion issue. Former players suicide rate at an all-time high yet little to no action taken. Doesn't make any of what other commissioners did right. This is just one of a series of huge missteps Goodell has taken since his reign began.

 

so their plan was what? don't watch it. Suspend him for two games and hope like hell no one ever does purchase the video. Yeah, way better precedent set there. Oh and they decided this after the original video was already leaked.

 

Was Goodell the comissioner in 2001? Thought it was Tagliabeu?

 

Covered up the concussion issue? Really? Have you not noticed all the rule changes that have taken place? There literally is a new thread on this forum complaining every time there is a new rule designed around player safety.

He invented the tuck-rule? Are you sure about that?

Yes, he swept the Patriots cheating under the rug. Thats a fair criticism, though I'm not certain that harsher penalties would have changed anything beyond making the league's history questionable.

 

Right he took over in 2006-07 but Goodells actions since have shown that he's reluctant to punish those caught cheating which hurts the league's integrity.

 

There's probably more to it than that and probably didn't want to open a can of worms.

 

Guys, virtually every media outlet that covers the NFL talked about their being a video from inside the elevator this summer , but that they didn't have access to it. You had to be stupid to think that the league hadn't seen it. They're lying through their teeth today so that they don't look like morons for letting him off with two games.

 

Apparently, the casino where this all went down at closed last week. The people with access to the security cameras lost their jobs. I think one guy walked away with a much bigger severance package than the others.

 

It's absurd to me that this video changes anyone's mind about the situation. I watched it. They had a physical altercation at one end of the elevator, he backs up, she walks toward him kind of aggressively and he knocks her the **** out.

That's the thing. She was KNOCKED OUT. That was verified. That was evidenced. It was out there. Out cold. What the hell do you THINK happened in that elevator? You think he pushed her around and she just passed out from the stress? She was KNOCKED OUT! What exactly do you think knocking a woman out cold is going to look like on video tape, that you can be surprised at how vicious it looks when you actually see it?

 

Did we know she was knocked out, and not just passed out? That was one of the first things I considered...maybe she was blackout drunk?

 

One does not walk over someone who is unconscious unless he is trying to show his dominance over that person.

This also really makes me want to see those damn spy-gate videos that the NFL burned.

 

looks to me like after the first hit she had her bell rung. Somewhat aggressive but she looked more out of it to me than anything.
I think a lot of people thought or believed his explanation that she hit him first. While the tape shows some sort of altercation seeing how big he is and what she actually did shocked people, I think/am guessing. I kind of figured he did something brutal just by the way he was dragging her around after. Drunk or not, you don't do that to someone you "love".

 

Well if we knew she was knocked out by him, then I suppose the video isn't really anything new.

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He punched her in the face on video, she falls to the ground and people are asking if she was simply passed out? Really?

 

No, that was based on the video of him dragging her out of the elevator. Either way, if he admits to hitting her, its a moot point.

 

Even if she hit him first, you don't hit a woman, period. The only exception would be if she's a schitzo who's hellbent on killing you. It was outrageous he only got a 2 game suspension, even more outrageous after the video was released.

 

If he had admitted to hitting her, then the video shouldn't really make a difference.

The question at this point is how the NFL is going to defend an indefinite suspension, after making clear their guidelines for domestic violence policy. I think the Ravens can get away with cutting him, but the NFLPA isn't going to let an indefinite suspension slide. Its going to be interesting to see what actions the NFLPA takes.

 

They'll get away with it because the NFLPA won't take up the case.

 

But yes, it was already admitted and known that he struck her and that is why she was knocked out.

The Ravens claim that Ray Rice had told them a "softer" version of what happened, and that's why they reacted to the video.

That notion is primarily what I'm arguing against here. That and the fact that Roger Goodell reopened it after the video came out and increased the punishment to an indefinite suspension.

Those two parties, Ravens and Goodell, already knew that he struck her and knocked her out. They knew this. So to pretend that there was something somehow even more malicious on the tape is just a farse. In fact the tape is about as minimal as it CAN be, given the facts we already knew (he had no markings on him, bruises or cuts, and she got knocked the **** out). Given the facts the tape could have been a lot worse. It could have been straight up Peters vs. Chicken from Family Guy. The tape was about as good for Ray Rice as it possibly could be, showing a physical altercation at one end of the elevator with what looks like it could be a strike from Jannay Palmer on that end, followed by her walking toward him kind of aggressively (I'm not sure I agree she was loopy rather than aggressive) and him knocking her the **** out. That's about as good as it could have possibly been from Ray Rice's end, given the facts that were already known and admitted.

 

Rice can file a grievance without the NFLPA. I'm not even sure this isn't a violation of the Fifth Amendment.

But the NFLPA not taking the case would be a huge coup for Goodell. This would be a massive expansion of Goodell's authority. I have a really hard time seeing the NFLPA letting this go. It would look awful for them publicly however.

Goodell really is a genius if he planned it out like this. Expanding his authority without giving anything in return, while having the public on his side.

 

I believe you're under mistaken assumptions. You seem to be thinking this works like a legal precedent where if the NFLPA doesn't challenge the suspension, that fact will be used against them at all arbitrations where the NFLPA challenges the NFL's punishments from then on.

But that is just not the case. This isn't the legal system. They would not be establishing legal precedent by not challenging it. And besides, citing their non-challenge would be like ruling that racial discrimination is legal because the ACLU never brought case against it until now.

 

The Ravens easily could argue that he was cut for reasons other than the actual act of assaulting her. They could just simply say that the distraction surrounding the new video constitutes too much of a distraction. I think they're fine here.

But the league itself really has no ground to stand on. They dealt with Rice based on precedent. A two game suspension for assault fit what has happened in the past. IIRC, Daniel Manning beat up a guy outside of a Denny's, and only got a one game suspension. IIRC Randy Starks assaulted his significant other when he was in Tennessee, and I'm not sure he was even suspended. Ben Roethlisberger raped someone and got four games. Anything above a two game suspension, and I think it likely would have been bumped down after a grievance was filed.

Goodell issued a two game suspension, then immediately came out and set the new precedent for domestic violence. Thats fine, but he knew he had no footing for getting Rice under that standard, so he only had two games. Now that the video comes out, Goodell re-opens the case, and gives Rice a suspension thats stiffer than the current guidelines he literally just set. Not only is the precedent lacking, but the NFL just essentially re-punished Rice. I don't see how that stands, but I have a feeling that the league decided they couldn't suffer anymore bad PR.

 

That applies to the courts and rule of law. It doesn't apply to your place of business. If you stole something at work and they had evidence you did, and once they confronted you, and you sad "I plead the fifth", they'd fire you on the spot(if not press charges against you) and nothing would happen.

The NFLPA is not going to risk public backlash by defending a POS like Rice. They have bigger fish to fry with the league than defending this scumbag. Let's just hope he goes away and tries to get his life straightened out rather than try to be reinstated for something he never should have done in the first place(and Goodell should've applied a much harsher penalty for in the first place).

 

By Fifth Amendement, I was referring to double-jeopardy. Rice was punished by the league with a two game suspension. Now he's being punished again, for the same thing, when the facts haven't changed. Now they have a collective bargaining agreement, so the Fifth Amendement isn't applicable per se, but I'm sure they have a provision that serves the same purpose.

They defend POS' all the time. This type of stuff isn't new. Ben Roethlisberger raped someone, and they get his suspension knocked down from 6 to 4 games.

 

Im not defending Roethisburger but all we know from both cases was that rape was never actually proven. So not sure if that's a good example. If he did rape either or both of those girls, he should've also been indefinitely suspended.

 

Right, but these disputes are usually settled by arbitrators. The NFL has to make a case for why their punishment is consistent.

 

Why was he suspended? Because he was accused?

This is exactly the game the league doesn't want to get into. They don't want to have to prove that someone committed the crime.

 

Again legally it doesn't apply. Perhaps technically speaking the NFLPA has the CBA, and technically double jeopardy could apply here, but they also have the option to not pursue it. If they want to keep legitimacy and not face huge public backlash, they won't.

Many of these cases are arbitrary. We know for a FACT that Rice beat the s*** out of her and have video evidence to show it. The NFL, due to pressure from the public and the NFL's business partners and such, is not going let Rice to get back in the league any time soon. Maybe he'll go the path of a Michael Vick. We'll see. But I can guarantee you, not only will he not get reinstate this year, he won't even get an hearing on his appeal. In fact, Im sure his lawyers and agent are telling him not to, just keep out of the spotlight for awhile and oh yea, don't hit your wife.

 

I believe so because he never went to jail or even had to go to court for it. One case was settled out of court and the other was dropped. I believe all you to be is charged with a crime for Goodell to consider a suspension. Even then he hasn't been consistent with his decisions.

 

Ray Rice has the right to pursue it, even if the NFLPA doesn't pursue it.

The issue for the NFLPA is whether they want to give the message to their membership that they won't be there to help out if the public backlash is that bad. Is it the PAs obligation to ensure the league doesn't violate the CBA, even if comes with public backlash?

The NFL's authority is not boundless. Not at all.

 

What decisions prior to this has he not been consistent with? When has he arbitrarily handed down a punishment that was much greater than previous punishments for similar actions? There is a reason why Goodell pre-announced the new guidelines for domestic violence punishment.

 

He certainly has the right to appeal the decision. Will he? I doubt it at this point. I dont think the NFLPA is concerned about how their member feel about it because it seems like most of them want Rice out of the league anyway. Im not sure how that could apply to this situation. This was something preventable, Rice never should've beaten his fiance. It's pretty simple. Im sure most of the NFL feels that way. Had Goodell got it right in the first place, none of this would've been a problem.