September 8, 2014: Ray Rice is indefinitely suspended by the NFL, and cut by his team, the Baltimore Ravens, over a domestic violence incident.
It may have been an unfair case of double jeopardy.
Raymell Mourice Rice was born January 22, 1987 in New Rochelle, in Westchester County, New York. He grew up there. He was the biggest star of Rutgers University's rise from football jokehood to a school that could be taken seriously. He was one of the best running backs in the country in the 2005, '06 and '07 seasons.
And, at the time, he seemed like a good person. As far as I know, he was not a disciplinary problem at RU, nor was there ever a report of him being arrested. No fights, no public drunkenness, no traffic accidents, no parking tickets. And never, not once, did we hear about him mistreating a woman. Or a child. Or an animal, unlike Michael Vick, whom I saw lead Virginia Tech into Rutgers Stadium and torch the Scarlet Knights 59-19 in 1997.
And, at the time, he seemed like a good person. As far as I know, he was not a disciplinary problem at RU, nor was there ever a report of him being arrested. No fights, no public drunkenness, no traffic accidents, no parking tickets. And never, not once, did we hear about him mistreating a woman. Or a child. Or an animal, unlike Michael Vick, whom I saw lead Virginia Tech into Rutgers Stadium and torch the Scarlet Knights 59-19 in 1997.
When he entered the professional ranks, he helped the Baltimore Ravens rise from mediocrity to a World Championship: And the end of the 2012 season, he helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII. Through the end of the 2013 season, there was never a mention of him being a problem, on the field or off. To that point, in regular-season NFL play, he had rushed for 6,180 yards for 37 touchdowns; and caught 359 passes for 3,034 yards and 6 touchdowns. Going into the 2014 season, he was 27 years old, and he looked like he was headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Then came the night of February 15, 2014. Ray and his girlfriend, Janay Palmer, were at the Revel Casino & Hotel, at the northern end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. They got into an elevator, and started arguing, and he punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious. When the elevator doors opened, he dragged her out.
This was caught on a security camera, and the world found out about it. At first, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for 2 games.
On March 27, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office indicted Rice for third-degree aggravated assault. If convicted, he could be fined $15,000 -- not a small amount of money for a modern pro athlete, but still more of an insult than a hardship -- and could be sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison. The criminal charges were later dropped after Rice agreed to undergo court-supervised counseling.
The day after the indictment, Ray and Janay were married. She forgave him. He called his actions "inexcusable," and said, "I let so many people down, because of 30 seconds of my life that I know I can't take back."
Then came the night of February 15, 2014. Ray and his girlfriend, Janay Palmer, were at the Revel Casino & Hotel, at the northern end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. They got into an elevator, and started arguing, and he punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious. When the elevator doors opened, he dragged her out.
This was caught on a security camera, and the world found out about it. At first, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for 2 games.
On March 27, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office indicted Rice for third-degree aggravated assault. If convicted, he could be fined $15,000 -- not a small amount of money for a modern pro athlete, but still more of an insult than a hardship -- and could be sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison. The criminal charges were later dropped after Rice agreed to undergo court-supervised counseling.
The day after the indictment, Ray and Janay were married. She forgave him. He called his actions "inexcusable," and said, "I let so many people down, because of 30 seconds of my life that I know I can't take back."
But in September, the video was seen by Goodell and Ravens officials. They already knew that it had happened. Actually seeing the video didn't change the facts: If he was wrong to have done it, it doesn't make it more wrong now that you've actually seen it.
The Ravens organization cut Rice. They did the right thing by doing this. Regardless of what his wife, or anyone else who cares about him, thinks, neither he nor any other person has the unalienable right to play professional football.
However, after Goodell saw the video, of an incident he already knew had happened, he suspended Rice indefinitely -- admitting that he "didn't get it right" the first time. No one doubted that. But he's been suspended indefinitely for something for which Goodell had already suspended him for 2 games. Yes, the initial punishment was not enough. Yes, the indefinite suspension should have happened first.
But suspending him twice for the same crime? That's not right. In legal terms, that's "double jeopardy." If a man commits a crime, and he's convicted based on forensic evidence, and he's sent to prison, you can't add prison time just because video of the crime has surfaced.
Kobe Bryant was still allowed to play basketball. We've never actually seen what he did to get indicted in Colorado in the Summer of 2003 -- though he did plead out, and avoided jail time.
Rice wasn't released by the Ravens because he committed a crime. We already knew that he committed a crime. He was released because he embarrassed his team. He wasn't suspended indefinitely by the NFL because he committed a crime. He wasn't even suspended indefinitely because the video made him look worse. He was suspended indefinitely because the video made the NFL look stupid for not getting it right the first time.
You can do whatever you want in the National Football League, as long as you aren't seen embarrassing your team, or causing the League to look bad.
On November 28, 2014, Rice won an appeal to be reinstated to the NFL. On January 15, 2015, he and the Ravens reached a settlement for about $3.5 million in back pay that he would have received had the NFL handled his suspension properly and he had been allowed to play for most of the 2014 season, as he would have been allowed to do under the original penalty.
In 2016, he announced that if he were signed by an NFL team, he would donate his entire salary to charities dealing with domestic violence. On December 18, 2018, he sat for an interview for CBS This Morning, he said, "I don't have to retire to tell you I'm done with football." Janay, still married to him (they have 2 children), was by his side, and says that he has never hurt her again.
Ray says he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders by not being in the NFL spotlight. He's become a -- well, "motivational speaker" isn't really the right term. But he's kept his word about working with domestic violence charities, and has spoken before the NFL Players Association rookie program, and several college football teams, including such big names as Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame. He wants to prevent young men from becoming what he became that night in Atlantic City.
The Ravens organization cut Rice. They did the right thing by doing this. Regardless of what his wife, or anyone else who cares about him, thinks, neither he nor any other person has the unalienable right to play professional football.
However, after Goodell saw the video, of an incident he already knew had happened, he suspended Rice indefinitely -- admitting that he "didn't get it right" the first time. No one doubted that. But he's been suspended indefinitely for something for which Goodell had already suspended him for 2 games. Yes, the initial punishment was not enough. Yes, the indefinite suspension should have happened first.
But suspending him twice for the same crime? That's not right. In legal terms, that's "double jeopardy." If a man commits a crime, and he's convicted based on forensic evidence, and he's sent to prison, you can't add prison time just because video of the crime has surfaced.
Kobe Bryant was still allowed to play basketball. We've never actually seen what he did to get indicted in Colorado in the Summer of 2003 -- though he did plead out, and avoided jail time.
Rice wasn't released by the Ravens because he committed a crime. We already knew that he committed a crime. He was released because he embarrassed his team. He wasn't suspended indefinitely by the NFL because he committed a crime. He wasn't even suspended indefinitely because the video made him look worse. He was suspended indefinitely because the video made the NFL look stupid for not getting it right the first time.
You can do whatever you want in the National Football League, as long as you aren't seen embarrassing your team, or causing the League to look bad.
On November 28, 2014, Rice won an appeal to be reinstated to the NFL. On January 15, 2015, he and the Ravens reached a settlement for about $3.5 million in back pay that he would have received had the NFL handled his suspension properly and he had been allowed to play for most of the 2014 season, as he would have been allowed to do under the original penalty.
In 2016, he announced that if he were signed by an NFL team, he would donate his entire salary to charities dealing with domestic violence. On December 18, 2018, he sat for an interview for CBS This Morning, he said, "I don't have to retire to tell you I'm done with football." Janay, still married to him (they have 2 children), was by his side, and says that he has never hurt her again.
Ray says he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders by not being in the NFL spotlight. He's become a -- well, "motivational speaker" isn't really the right term. But he's kept his word about working with domestic violence charities, and has spoken before the NFL Players Association rookie program, and several college football teams, including such big names as Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame. He wants to prevent young men from becoming what he became that night in Atlantic City.
*
September 8, 2014 was a Monday. It Labor Day, and it was the opening week of the NFL seasons, and 2 games were played on Monday Night Football: The New York Giants lost to the Detroit Lions, 35-14 at Ford Field in Detroit; and the Arizona Cardinals beat the San Diego Chargers, 18-17 at what University of Phoenix Stadium (now named State Farm Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.
These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Citi Field.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. It took 5 Oriole pitchers to pitch a 7-hit shutout.
* The Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-1 at Nationals Park in Washington.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Marcus Stroman pitched a 3-hit shutout, all by himself.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-5 at Comerica Park in Detroit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-4 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.
* The Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 9-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros, 4-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.
* The New York Yankees, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Minnesota Twins, the San Francisco Giants, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers were not scheduled.
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