It’s been a few days since TMZ published the the haunting video footage of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, in an a casino elevator. She has since defended him and blamed the media. The incident occurred in April, and the NFL sat on it after doling out a tiny, 2-game suspension. After the new video was released to the public, the Ravens suspended Rice indefinitely. Sponsors dropped him. It all made for a nice show on the part of the NFL, but I have a feeling this was all about the bottom line. Yes, it’s a good thing that the Ravens finally took action. I still feel like they hung onto Rice until he ceased to become profitable. Once Ravens fans became disgusted, then the NFL cared. Fans are so eager to dump Rice jerseys that local businesses are offering creative exchanges.
The NFL has been trying to front like they never saw the super-violent video footage. Now an official statement has been issued. They’re going to “look into it.”
The NFL says it will investigate a report that claims one of its executives was sent video footage by an unnamed law enforcement agent that appears to show former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer.
“We have no knowledge of this,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday when asked about the Associated Press report that claims a 12-second voicemail from April 9 confirms someone at the league knew about the tape, which was posted online Monday by TMZ.
“You’re right. It’s terrible,” a woman says in the voicemail, according to the AP
“We are not aware of anyone in our office who possessed or saw the video before it was made public on Monday,” McCarthy said. “We will look into it.”
[From People]
Did you hear that? It’s fine, everyone. Do not be alarmed. The NFL is on the case.
Sigh. This is a systemic problem. The NFL issued new strict DV policies weeks ago, but it’s not enough. Especially if they’re playing a huge coverup game like this.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell tried some PR cleanup on CBS This Morning. Here’s a video clip. He repeatedly denies that anyone in the NFL saw this video before Monday. A full transcript is available here. Goodell says the NFL kept asking for more footage only to be rebuffed. Huh. Goodell also says “it was ambiguous about what actually happened” when they spoke to Rice. So he’s calling Rice a liar, which may the case. Buuut. The video.
There are other additions to this story. Let’s do bulletpoints:
* EA Sports has removed Rice from their Madden NFL video game lineup. Good.
* Prosecutors are defending their no-jail deal with Rice. He was only charged with misdemeanor assault. He avoided the potential 3-5 year prison sentence by accepting pre-trial intervention. In other words, counseling. This is a routine procedure, but it’s difficult to believe the video footage had no additional impact. The prosecution also told Press of Atlantic City that they “ decided to forgo the trial for the sake of Janay Rice.” Since PTI was a foregone conclusion, “It’s not fair to the victim” to drag things out for months. Looks like that happened anyway.
* Rice is so sad about this whole situation. For real. He spoke with the CBS WFAN station off the air. Host Craig Carton says Rice is “miserable” and “embarrassed.” He should be. Rice also said he’s “very much in love” with Janae, and they’re together as husband and wife. He doesn’t care about the football: “He recognizes that this has now stained who he is as a man. That this is now who he is — this is the impression everybody will have of him other than family members and people closest to him.” Uh … when you punch a woman, spit on her, and drag her body, people will think you’re abusive.
Photos courtesy of Getty & WENN
I’m more p-ssed that that law enforcement thinks this action puts them on a moral/ethical high ground when THEY gave less than a proverbial slap on the wrist. So they thought it prudent to send the tape to the NFL where everyone believes justice is served? WTF, justice system? Maybe they wanted bigger charges and the prosecutor wouldn’t play, but come on, the system failed her, more than the NFL.
I agree so much with everything you say here.
I trust the NFL’s ability to investigate itself about as much as I trust law enforcement’s ability to investigate itself.
Anyway, the NFL looks absolutely TERRIBLE in all of this and I’m sure the po-po are just loving that because it so conveniently takes the focus off of them.
Exactly. How does he NFL have any responsibility to protect this woman? She’s not their employee. When he’s gone, she’s gone too.
i was just going to say that – internal investigations of organizations by the organizations themselves always work out so well. well, they do, for the organization.
I agree Kiddo and Kitten, and those are really good points. It IS a shame that law enforcement is not getting as much blame and scrutiny for how they handled this matter. Even if the victim didn’t want to testify, the video said all that was needed to be said.
Agree, hold up signs at the next game. We Are Half the Audience.
I’m not a football or even a casual watcher. I hate it. But I know a lot of female fans and I love the idea mentioned by Rhiannionkk (and I think I saw in a previous post) If all female fans could hold up signs at games showing their disgust at how the NFL has handled this and other DV cases that would be something.
Anyone her know how to get that started???
I’m a domestic violence support worker. As horrifying as this whole episode is for janay and her family, can I just say I am really heartened by the insightful, respectful and thoughtful comments made by posters to this site. I know celebitchy caters for the ‘smart’ escapists among us, but even in many of the youtube threads – which are often a playground for depressingly cruel and misoginistic trolls – there is more understanding of the complexity of domestic violence than i would have expected. The nfl is totally disgraced. Thanks for the comments girls!
Well the ultimate decision came from the prosecutor’s office. On on hand, because I am a lawyer, I get why they dropped the matter when Janay Rice refused to cooperate. When that happens, a prosecutor basically has three options:
1.) Drop the case or dramatically plead it down;
2.) Attempt to make the case without the victim (this is rare, because it’s super hard, especially because you have the risk that the victim could actually testify for the DEFENSE – yes, it happens and I’ve seen it and it’s terrible to watch).
3.) Bring the victim in by using something called a material witness warrant – which basically allows you to jail the victim until they agree to testify – but it looks horrible to be jailing a victim and this is almost never used.
I get the logic that counseling is better than nothing. In many cases, it actually is and I can get behind it. The brutality of the assault in Rice’s case is what gets me. This was not a push, or a slap. It was a closed fist to the head (and the lack of any alarm or remorse immediately after). However, people often do not appreciate, from a legal perspective, how HARD it is to prosecute cases like these when the victim won’t help you out. It’s an extremely delicate situation and no matter what happens, it will never be good enough.
They had the tape, the entire time. That is HARD evidence, no he said/she said circumstantial stuff, in spite of what the victim agreed to testify to.
Kiddo, even with the tape, the victim’s testimony is still generally essential. This is why people outside the legal system see it as so weird. Presuming they did go forward with the prosecution, do you know what would probably happen? You’d have the VICTIM coming in and testifying for the defense. Women will get on the stand and state that they attacked him first, it was self-defense, etc. I’ve had to sit in court when I was a law student and watch this. And guess what normally happens? They get off. That allows the abuser to walk out of court with no restrictions – no counseling, no probation, nothing. Which is better – chance an acquittal to make a point or plead him into a situation where he at least needs to get some kind of intervention? The second often sounds better.
Do you know most states changed their laws about DV years ago? It used to be that to make a case, the victim had to be willing to testify. They changed it so that that the state does not need the victim to bring the case. However, statistically, DV prosecutions haven’t budged barely an inch. Why? Because whether you like it or not, the victim is still essential to building a good case.
The tape shows Rice striking his wife, but it also shows her spitting on him. At trial, the defense could easily spin such a thing as a “provocation” or “assault” (and yes, legally, spitting on another person is assault and it can charged as such). I can imagine a prosecutor’s fear of seeing a victim come to court to talk about how she assaulted him first and how he’s really a nice guy, blah, blah…
Listen, it sucks. It really does. But I also get the bind that a uncooperative victim creates, and how people try to work around it. They had no good options. At least he now has a record. Acquittal would have been a lot worse.
@Sam
Thanks for the explanation. I guess many victims refuse to cooperate out of fear?
Coming from a legal office, I also agree that the prosecutors office was stuck. It’s very difficult to make a case without the victim. And many times we have photos that show brutal injuries and previous statements. Without a victim, a lot of juries have the “if she doesn’t care why should I mentality”. This is proven way too often, especially if the victim is there explaining her actions in his defense. And even if he was found guilty of a more serious charge, if he has no criminal history (ie she hasn’t reported him before) the legal system is stuck on issuing a sentencing lighter than the one he deserves. If people don’t like it, the LAW needs to be changed and that’s something that prosecutors and police aren’t in the position to do. We need to push our legislatures to change the statutes.
My thought through out this has always been why does anyone need to see the video to declare that this is brutal? What did you think a pro football player punching his fiancĂ© in te face looked like? We all knew what happened. All this video does is prove the NFL is more concerned about money (duh). To me it says that as a society we need to see it to really believe it. If a tree falls in the woods, etc. he knocked her out. If there hadn’t been footage, it would still have been just as brutal.
Jenny, you’re right. This is a larger issue then this decision. It seems like, to me, that they at least tried to salvage the matter by mandating therapy for Rice. These cases are so, so intensely painful and complex and brutal. Forcing Janay’s testimony through a warrant would have been horrendous for all involved as well. I just can’t see how a better solution could have been reached given the circumstances, and that sucks all around.
@Lady Macbeth: a ton. It’s so, so sad. One problem is that we, right now, lack the resources to really help victims.
In addition, our court rules are not victim friendly. Many of them know that if there is anything in their past or present that makes them look bad (criminal record, drug use, mental illness, etc.) our rules of evidence allow the defense to bring that stuff up. Many of them refuse to go through that. So much of court now is really a form of character assasination – I don’t blame anyone who wishes to avoid that. Frankly, we probably need change at the top levels, as opposed to just complaining about individual cases.
@Sam , I understand all of that. I really do. But perhaps they need expert testimony explaining the behaviors in the victims. I realize that court is already expensive and tied up with a lot of cases, and that it is difficult to prosecute without cooperation of the victim, but all this does, in the end, is further validate the cultural acceptance that assault between known parties is a private matter and that it is not the same or as serious as brutal stranger attacks/assaults.
I understand what you’re saying Sam, thank you for explaining it, but that is really disheartening.
Kiddo: I like to think that at some point Battered Person Syndrome will be far more recognized in court. But I think that will be a cultural shift that will take years. And sadly, experts are hard to come by, and juries tend to believe witnesses most, so I think it would take a long time of cultural change to reach that point. In this case, my point was that I don’t see law enforcement here as evil or bad. I think they had a platter of no good options and they picked the one that at least contained counseling, thinking it was the best. In their place, I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t place the blame on them. I blame Ray Rice for starting this chain of events.
Sam, you’ve said it all much better than I can 🙂 Great response and explaination about the legal system.
And I totally agree, Kiddo, we need to get more expert witnesses in there. We need more victim advocates out there. And if not in court, then out in public educating people on the issue so that our juries have a better understanding. Both you and Sam nailed it, we need to protect the survivors of crime. Our defendants are already protected. I felt so good to see all of you in here never ONCE victim blaming or hedging on her response. Eevery time she has lashed out, all I have seen are people voicing concern and understanding on why – You guys rock!
Good posts, Sam, thank you for that perspective.
I was thinking that since they had the tape showing exactly what happened they wouldn’t need her testimony, but then I remembered Rodney King. After I saw the tape of him being beaten, I thought there was no way anybody on earth could find any excuse for those cops after watching that – but they did.
GoodNames: When I was in law school, this is how videos were explained to me: That a video shows you a set of actions. The video will not, however, show you the “interpretation” of those facts or the “context.”
Rodney King? Do you know why those officers were acquitted? The defense successfully argued that the tape does not show the full interaction. They argued that before filiming began, King attaked the officers and threw several of them to the ground. Hence, they argued the tape did not tell the whole story. That’s part of why they were acquitted. It is often very easy for lawyers to argue around video tapes, which seems counter-intuitive but actually happens very often.
Right, Sam, I was aware of the fact that the officers claimed Rodney King attacked them first, and perhaps he did. I just didn’t then and still don’t see any justification for their continued beating and beating of him after he was clearly subdued and no longer a threat. And I assumed no one else would, either. But, obviously I was wrong. So it makes your point that you can’t rely on a tape alone, no matter how clearly it may seem to tell the story.
So depressing…
@Sam-why are experts hard to come by? Is it just because they’re too busy?.. or scared to testify?
Kitten: Because of the process by which experts testify, it makes it harder. Anytime a lawyer wants to use expert testimony in court, it is not a given. You have to “qualify” the expert to the judge – meaning that you need to argue before the judge as to WHY this person should be allowed to testify as an expert. You need to present their background, education, training and a host of other factors to the judge, who may or may not, at his/her discretion, allow the expert to testify. The other problem is that the other side is fully entitled to fight against the expert’s admission to court to testify. In addition, they are fully entitled to introduce rebuttal experts. This then becomes the dreaded “battle of the experts” cases that tend to confuse juries like crazy. If the defense can find one kook who will argue that Battered Person Syndrome is BS, you then will find yourself on the defensive, instead of prosecuting. It’s a very tricky dance that can turn a straightforward case into a mess really fast.
Can we do posts of this story without pics of this dude. Just seeing his face makes me so mad.
+1
+2
Yeah, I’m sure they’re looking into it as we speak. I can’t even look at that photo of Goodell. Or Rice.
they’re “looking into” how they can cover their butts and spin this so they don’t look even worse than they do already.
Goodell…..I think it’s time for him to go. Very disappointed in Kraft’s support of him.
http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/kraft-defends-goodell-doubts-rice-will-play-nfl-again
ITA. It was bad enough that he originally thought a 2 game suspension was a good idea, but he’s just swimming for dear life right now. I am only waiting for the inevitable proof that the NFL had the video, and then I think he’ll have no choice but to resign.
Unless sponsors leave, I don’t think Goodell is going anywhere. And I don’t think any sponsors are going to leave. People aren’t going to stop going to games and they aren’t going to stop watching. The NFL is printing money for the owners and their sponsors. Money trumps all. I wish it weren’t the case, but right now it is a fact of life.
@TheOriginalKitten Of course Kraft supports his homeboy Goodell, who destroyed evidence of the Pats’ cheating and covered it up as best he could. Kraft owes Goodell.
Yes to what everyone says. Grr.
Fire Goodell. Now.
http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/RogerGoodell/?t=2&akid=1235.587424.S8rwsO
Gutless cowards only interested in the bottom line. Absolutely pathetic.
I do not buy for a second that no one has never seen this video before, we are talking about the same team who has made an abused women “apologize” in a press conference to save their intere$t$.
Also yesterday the Associated Press claimed someone from law enforcement told them they had in fact sent the NFL the full tape. There’s even a (supposed) voice mail from within NFL offices confirming its receipt and an NFL employee saying, “You’re right, it’s terrible.” So it’s not just that the NFL dropped the ball (no pun intended), it’s that they’re participating in a massive cover up because they just did not care about this except insofar as it would impact a profitable team’s revenue to have a top player benched for any significant period of time. This is disgusting on every level.
Its always the cover up that gets people in the end.
Adding to that, the Ravens coach and owner came out yesterday and said that the video matched up with everything that Rice told them, and everything in the police report. “It was worse seeing it on video” Which just boggles the mind-the guy tells you that X happened and you still did nothing?
Also-the ex-FBI guy is now doing a ‘independent investigation’ as requested by the NFL. Except the owners of the Giants and the Steelers will be ‘overseeing’ him. Which basically means the coverup is upping to the next level.
I was listening to a bit of local sports radio yesterday about this (and pleasantly surprised how not a single person I heard defended Rice or blamed his wife, amazingly) and they were talking about how an AP reporter had dug all this up. The general consensus was that Goodell and the NFL has made this all so much worse with the cover-ups and lies, rather than just being honest. Rather than saying “we never saw the tape” they could have at least said, “you know, we initially did a small suspension but now realize that was wrong.” Admitting they were wrong and simply telling the truth would go a long ways. The lying and dishonesty is making a bad situation even worse.
Anyone who calmly does what he did? Not someone I want to be around. This hasn’t tainted him, it’s exposed him for who he truly is to those who refused to see it. The way his wife has reacted speaks volumes as well and none of it is good. Unless he receives some sort of exorcism, he’ll never convince me that he isn’t a demon.
This. Great, he’s embarrassed and he is ashamed that everyone (except people who are close to him and really know him) will think of him as an abuser. BECAUSE HE IS ONE. If he didn’t want to be perceived that way, he should’ve never raised a hand to his partner. It’s called accountability and integrity.
Right. It seems like he feels it coming to light is what “stained” him…not the act of hitting someone like that.
+1!!
Right. And the way he dragged her out of the elevator like it was an every day occurrence. Just sickening.
I watched the tape. Why didn’t he try to comfort her, gently pick her up while uttering words of sorrow? He clocked her and just stood there. THEN – the “security guard” – heavy black man with blazer and name tag just looked on. An apparent stranger is seen patting her and helping her to rise to her feet. Hubby does not make a move to comfort her in any of the video recording. I was appalled that she lost her shoes and he callously kicked one of her shoes out of the elevator. With his strength, he could have picked her up and gently carried her out of the elevator. I was concerned that the doors would close on the poor thing, since she laid there for way too long. This A*****e should be jailed for assault and battery instead of being discussed as a respected Raven player.
I’ve lost all interest in the ravens and football. I think they did see the video ahead of time and didn’t think the video would get out.
He deserves everything he’s getting. I feel terrible for her and their daughter, though.
Wanna bet the investigation finds the tape was sent in April to “one individual” who “covered it up” and is “no longer with the NFL organization”?
“We don’t know what really happened in that elevator.” “We don’t know for certain that the NFL isn’t lying when they said they didn’t have the video.” It’s amazing how everyone involved in this debacle keeps lying, and how there are people who keep defending their lies, and then more info leaks showing that the NFL, the Ravens, Ray Rice, etc were actually lying and that any defense of these lies is moronic and misplaced.
Even if Goodell didn’t know–and I don’t care if he did–lying by omission or ignorance is still lying. You had the tape, you either consciously covered it up and are reprehensible, or you were willfully ignorant and have lost institutional authority, if your underlings feel they can hide a smoking gun from you and get away with it.
Money talks, but video shocks. In this case, there is such a thing as bad publicity .
So basically some overworked entry-level person will take the blame for not passing the tape on, they’ll fire him/her and go back to business as usual.
Soooooooo, lots of coverage about who said/did/texted/tweeted etc, but has Ray Rice publicly apologised to his wife?
I know she apologised for provoking him into violently assaulting her, but did he reciprocate?
If he has/did, would someone post the link because in all this coverage, I don’t see an actual apology from him to his wife.
Why should he apologise if he acted in selfdefense (in his mind)? His wife is the abuser for Rice.
I’m sure he’s the type of Neanderthal that thinks it’s being a pussy to apologize to any woman.
Depends…do you see this as an apology?
Rice apologized for “the situation my wife and I were in,” and promised reporters that he is “working every day to be a father, a better husband and a better role model.”
“I failed miserably,” Rice said. “But I wouldn’t call myself a failure cause I’m working myself back up.”
Ugh. Why even bother saying anything. What is so hard about admitting guilt and saying the words “i’m sorry”. It’s a skill we’ve all learned from a young age. Even if you don’t mean it you say it and act sorry.
His level of pride and delusion is so strong he can’t even accept blame in the form of lip service.
And my heart goes out to his wife. She is in such a scary situation both mentally and physically. To either be so brain washed into accepting blame for anothers actions. Or being so afraid of what could happen to her if she doesn’t pubicly blame herself for her husband knocking her out and spitting on her (among other things). Well, that says it all.
Rice appears very calm and comfortable with his actions. He fails to see what he did that was wrong or why people are upset.
I want to see a fan boycott. It’s the only way the NFL will actually address this.
Well said, FLORC. Everything in his statement screams *Classic Abuser* to me.
No, TOK. That does not constitute an apology.
Those are words written by a publicist (after passing legal dept) that re designed not to apportion blame (got to keep the sponsors happy) and to neutralise what he did so people aren’t revolted by it (keep the sponsors happy, detoxify the ‘situation’ stat!)
LAK
I fail to see how the “apology” he gave was preapproved to keep the public from full revolt. They only seem to stoke the flames. Bad choice whoever wrote that up and had his wife blame herself.
Like most Billion(Trillion?) dollar institutions they won’t react to a scandal until it cuts into their profits. I hope the fans of not just the Ravens, but the NFL display outrage in the form of reduced ticket sales and merchandise sales. That’s how it had to work out with Michael Vic.
Florc – PR approved statements don’t always work.
He is very careful not to accept any blame. When he sort of touches on the failure, he reverses and takes it back.
This non apology, non failure statement written in religious sinner redemption language is designed to appeal to minivan majority (male and female) to neutralise the horror of that video.
He doesn’t address what happened directly and calls it ‘the situation’ as if he wasn’t there.
Creating distance removes the emotive aspect of said ‘situation’.
Very manipulative to use redemption language to fool the minivan when he can’t throw in a ‘regret’ or even address ‘his participation in what happened’ like his wife did in her tweeted apology.
Her apology addressed the situation directly even if we now know she was probably railroaded into it.
Where was his redemption before the full video emerged?
Too bad for him, the minivan aren’t stupid.
His only regret, like the NFL/Ravens, seems to be that we saw the full video.
Thanks LAK for clarifying.
They’re always only sorry they got caught if even sorry at all. I guess the wording and the way he delivered it was so disingenuous it only fanned the flames.
I remember hearing random rumors of an nfl player caught on tape abusing his wife weeks ago. This was bubbling to the surface for some time now. Without a cover up it would be old news at this point.
I hope she’s able to get out before we’re seeing him on trial for worse.
I don’t know who to believe in this whole situation. I have a hard time believing the NFL tried very hard to get the video, but I can also believe that as long as the police were still investigating they weren’t going to releaae it to anyone. My confusion here is: What did the NFL really have to gain by having the video but claiming they didn’t? They would have had to know that in the age of websites like TMZ & Radar Online it would come to light eventually and only make them look worse. Ray Rice isn’t such a superstar that he was worth a major coverup that would blowup later on and tarnish the entire NFL. If they did see the video, this was a prime opportunity to sacrifice Rice by making an example out of him & enstating the now new DV policy and make themselves look like the hero. I just don’t get why they would sit on it if they had it-noone ‘wins’ in that situation…
This is a Watergatian level of cover-up (is that a word?) The NFL’s blatant hushing up and lying about not seeing the tape is disgusting. Their response was way too late, way too little, and now that the video has gone viral the back-pedalling starts. What a sickening situation, and I only hope that Janay doesn’t suffer any more abuse at the hands of that monster.
It’s a word as much as “ain’t” or “truthiness” are words. Used with an agreed upon and understood meaning. I vote yes!
And I don’t even see him backpeddling over his own actions here. Only saying what he has to to appease his employers. And he’s barely doing that at this point.
As far as Janay suffering more. I think it’s more than likely she is. He had no remorse on film.Like this was such a common occurance. Nothing with him makes me think he’ll curb his temper or that knocking out someone, spitting on them, and dragging them along is wrong. He just doesn’t care.
everybody (the “authorities”) are playing what they do best from a football perspective: pass the ball like it’s on hellfire.
Just hold up a sign, celebitches. We can make a difference. I was hit, too. I want it to stop.
The only good news to come out of this mess is that the NFL is now so embarrassed, there is NO WAY IN HELL that Ray Rice will EVER play football again. Cut off his source of income and let’s see how long that relationship lasts and how cocky he remains.
So not only is the NFL greedy, it is most likely corrupt AND stupid??? Hello, it’s 2014 and there are these things called the internet and social media. Of course that video was going to be leaked to the public at some point. The story here from the beginning was that Ray and Janay had a lot to drink (two full bottles of liquor) and got into a fight in the elevator and that in the ensuing scuffle she was knocked unconscious. That’s why she made that statement about how she was sorry for her role in the situation (whoever okayed that move is also stupid!).
Just to give you all some context, Ray Rice was given the benefit of the doubt here in Baltimore because of the immense amounts of charity work he was involved in. The man traveled to schools and spoke out against bullying for goodness sake! Who ever would have thought it? Now for me, the second I saw the first video I knew something was wrong in the way he dragged her body. If she had accidentally been knocked out, wouldn’t he have picked her up and immediately made sure she was ok? So no, this Ravens fan did not wait “until Ray Rice was bad for business.” I decided then and there not to wear my jersey again and I wish they had ended his contract then and there. I was in an abusive relationship, I don’t make excuses for that kind of behavior- drunk or not. Now many, many people here gave him the benefit of the doubt because they thought he was such a nice guy (and when you meet him- he is very nice and sweet, no ego at all) and that it was “just a mistake.” The Ravens gave him the benefit of the doubt too. We were told by the team owner that they did not know about the elevator video and that New Jersey law enforcement said they couldn’t release evidence in an ongoing investigation. Steve Bisciotti wrote a letter to PSL owners and sat down with the local news last night and he looked super uncomfortable, but he said they never saw the video. Now there are reports that the NFL AND The Ravens organization saw that video. Like I said, corrupt and stupid. I appreciate what Ray Rice did for this community, but the second he laid his hands on the mother of his child and a woman he claims to love, I lost all respect for him. He DOES NOT represent my city and lots of other Ravens fans have washed their hands of him, too. Not just because it’s “bad for business” but because we have no respect for domestic violence. Of course people here are still supporting him and saying that he made a mistake and think of all the good he did.
The NFL will take a PR hit from this and Goodell may well be fired or resigned (between this and the handling of the topic of head injuries among NFL veterans, Goodell can rot for all I care) but will the NFL suffer? The answer is no because people will still go to games and still buy merchandise and still put their money in the NFL’s pocket. We have the power people. We have to use our wallets to show we are disgusted.
Sorry for all these long wall of texts. This really hits home for me because I had faith in Ray. He lent his name and time to a charity event I was involved with. He hugged my daughter and gave her words of encouragement. He wasn’t JUST another football player to me. He not only let himself, his family, his wife and his daughter down but he left his fans and this city down. Don’t be fooled by the wolves in sheep’s clothing, that’s what I take out of this. All those greedy, corrupt a-holes can ROT!
Sucks when you have a guy representing your team that seems to embody the positive side of sports, only to find out he’s an asshole of the highest order.
In Patriots Land, everyone adores Tom Brady and tends to put him on a pedestal. If it turned out he was abusing Giselle, many of us would be crushed.
I feel for you as a football fan, but you’re doing the right thing by not defending his actions.
What a joke, the poor girls is obviously afraid and brain washed. Typical victim of domestic violence, blaming the media and not her fiance.