Ray Rice is really, right now, getting adequate punishment. But banned for life....No I don't thin

The NFL is already saying that he may be able to return...

NEW YORK — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not rule out the possibility of former Ravens running back Ray Rice returning to play in the league after serving a suspension for domestic violence.

"But he would have to make sure that we are fully confident that he is addressing this issue clearly, he has paid a price for the actions that he’s already taken,"

www.sportsnet.ca...

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: roadgravel

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
One aspect that maybe is not being thought about is the fact that the victim is being victimized again. She married him, so we are taking away the ability for her husband to support her.

So the only job he can do is carry a football? If that is the case, he can probably get welfare.

So her quality of life is not impacted when his next job makes 1% of what he does now?

that's not what you posed in that post though.

originally posted by: roadgravel

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04

originally posted by: roadgravel

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
One aspect that maybe is not being thought about is the fact that the victim is being victimized again. She married him, so we are taking away the ability for her husband to support her.

So the only job he can do is carry a football? If that is the case, he can probably get welfare.

So her quality of life is not impacted when his next job makes 1% of what he does now?

that's not what you posed in that post though.

Actually it's exactly what I posed. The whole point of my post was the victim will end up suffering.

This...

She married him, so we are taking away the ability for her husband to support her.

He can still support her. It might be a different monetary level. I don't doubt he'll be back.

People don't care about average people losing jobs over corporate greed but violence from a sports player, can't have that. lol.

He cannot support her? Affecting her quality of life?
God forbid that she would have to get a job and earn the money...

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: GrantedBail
But to ruin a 27 year olds life for a mistake, (and a truly huge mistake) is not a fair punishment.

A mistake is unintentionally spelling someone's name wrong. Blasting your fiancé on the jaw is a violent felony and is certainly not a mistake.

Tell that to the fiance'. She ended up marrying him.

OP, I too think it was too harsh. These are football players. They are trained and paid very well to be very physical people. True, you need to learn to separate work from your personal life, but the fact is that many players don't. I don't condone what he did, but I can understand how it got to that point. The NFL needs to do a much better job at educating young men who want to make football their life, that you don't go into society with the same mindset that you take onto the field. These guys aren't cube monkey's. These guys get paid to do things that end up hurting people.

What Goodell did was all PR to appease an ever growing society that takes things like this way too hard and too much out of context. The bottom line that people should remember is this: If Ray and his wife want to live a life that is full of drama and physicality, that's their business. We've become a nation of buttinski's who make it our business to get up in others'.

Both fans and the NFL also need to realize that there are thousands of young men out there who are just as capable, with the right training, to do what Ray Rice does. He may be good, but he's expendable. He's nobody special. The Ray Rice's of the league need to remember that, and they need to remember that they are a part of a multi-billion dollar enterprise that takes it's image very seriously. it's a big part of why they're worth billions of dollars, so when you tarnish that image you're biting the hand that feeds you.

What Rice did was not only socially unacceptable, but professionally unacceptable as well. To ban him from the NFL indefinitely though is a bit much. Give him a year or two, let him learn to become a better man, people will forget all about him and then give him a second chance. It's not like he killed anyone.

Ray was just keeping it 'real', if anything he deserves a promotion.

After watching that vid, I don't know anyone in their right mind who'd want him around. He's a violent thug. He belongs in the gutter. Let the skilled, honest, hard working, non- spouse beaters move forward and take his spot. If you cannot act civilized then you have no business being near a civilization.

I respect everyone's opinion and their right to voice it. I still stand by my original opinion. Pro football players are notorious for run ins with the law. I don't ascribe them to some special place on the planet but I think that they shouldn't be treated any different than anyone else.

Obviously domestic violence is a topic that inflames many. If he is not a serial abuser, I do believe he deserves another chance after he has redeemed himself.

That is how I feel and think. Thank you all for giving your input.

a reply to: GrantedBail

Here's what makes me seriously question if he is a serial abuser - everything that happened after he hit her.

Just abject callousness and disregard for her well being. Couldn't be bothered to check her pulse, or pick her up or pull her skirt down ...no visible sign of shock or regret. And yeah, it's doubtful that the first and only time he hit her is in a public place...if that's what happens in public, what the hell happens in private?

Anyways, I think media needs to stop showing the video. It's sick, voyeuristic and only further victimizes her.

I do think he should be banned, professional football is not simply a sport, it's a business that relies on image, marketing, etc....not possible for him, the Ravens or the NFL as long as he's around.

Otherwise, the NFL can take their BS breast cancer awareness efforts in October and flush them down the toilet.

a reply to: GrantedBail

Is there not a difference between dog fighting and a football player hitting his fiance / gf so hard it took one hit to knock her out?

The NFL has every right to bounce him.

originally posted by: GrantedBail
Ha ha. I already have a waiver claim in on my fantasy team to pick up his back up but....... I digress.

Hopefully, that is not regular conduct and was something that was perhaps alcohol induced. Doesn't take away from the severity of the offense. I am not saying it is not atrocious, it is. But come on. People mess up. Do we punish them for life?

He could do the community a service if he went all in on a domestic abuse non=profit. If he truly reformed.


a reply to: Snarl

I personally think he'll play in the NFL again. I mean it's really about money and not what's right.

The guy should have done jail time for that. His fiancé/wife didn't need to testify for that to happen. The cameras caught it and the police could just arrest him based on the films. He also had the opportunity to show remorse and do exactly as you said he should, get involved in a real way, in forming a battered women foundation, but I think it's a bit late for it to not look contrived and desperate.

He could have easily killed her with that blow. Her head snapped back and hit the wall of the elevator. Then he dragged her out like a sack of dirt. It was very graphic. There's no running from this for the NFL or Rice. You may be a female fan and one that has experienced abuse, but I'm fairly certain there's a lot of female fans with a totally different view on this and they, along with the male fans who were disgusted from seeing that incident, are probably in the vast majority and who the NFL really care about.

originally posted by: amazing He could have killed her or given her some kind of permanent injury.

Apparently he did... She married him afterwards.

I hate to be such a pessimist, but it wonder how long she will stay now that his money (lack of it... because you know those few million he left with will not keep them in the kind of life they were accustomed to) won't make a punch in the face any less painful?!

a reply to: GAOTU789

I couldn't agree more. When I first heard of this decision, that is the first thing that crossed my mind. They were fine with it until the public outcry made them rethink their position. Which happens a lot lately it seems. Whether it's politicians or sports stars, nobody cares until the public forces them to.

In that line of thought, I am even more sickened when I hear an apology. I don't even want to hear it at that point. If they were sorry, they would not have condoned it to begin with IMO. They can keep their faux apologies and their faux shame and shove them both up their respective anal recepticals.

To OP -i personally think what he did was sick but I also think if the girl married him, they should have just stuck to his original suspension the way. IMO it's not for the rest of the world to judge what this woman can live with. I am a woman... Would I live with it? Absolutely not. But some can and do. If she didn't want to carry it further, why should the public have an outcry about that? She's a grown woman with no mental deficits... It's her decision to stay or go.

I know folks will hate that I said that, but just think about it for a minute. She turned around and married this man. Whether it was for his money or his looks, his wit, or how he looks dressed up like pikachu... She chose it of her own free will. We aren't talking about a woman that got married and then found out that her husband liked to hit her. We are talking about a woman that got stone cold knocked out and STILL showed up at the church.

If she's not mad... I can't be mad. I think it's a dumb thing to do, but my opinion doesn't and shouldn't affect her decisions one whit.

For those who can't read - I am in no way condoning violence of domestic abuse. If my husband ever hit me, I would either get him on his feet or I'd get him on the sheets. One way or the other I would make damn sure he wouldn't sleep peacefully for a long time to come and I damned sure wouldn't stay and let him keep doing it.

What I am condoning is letting grown women make their own choices when stuff like this happens. We all live with different things that other folks wouldn't dream of putting up with. As long as she has all of her mental faculties... Then we are wasting our time even discussing it. There are many women who are in situations like this that can't escape but would love to be able to do so successfully. Those are the ones that need attention, help, and sympathy. This woman could have left in the safety of the public eye and would have had the means to do so. Many are not that lucky.

I wonder if the she would of married him if he was say Ray Rice: Garbageman, nothing wrong with garbagemen..lol.
I guess if she wants to be a punching bag thats up to her, his actions in the vid do not make it look like a one timer event.

a reply to: GAOTU789

Ahh...this leaves it open for him to take some violins therapy and then come back all "good to go". Just like drug addiction.

At least this time it wasn't violins in the workplace. I keep hearing about how bad violins are for the workplace, but I just don't get it.....

Personally I like violins. What good would an orchestra be without violins?

Ray will be back. The NFL has to act like it really cares. He did this in a place with many cameras so the evidence is so clear therefore something to appease the mob is done.

Ray Lewis, alleged murder and the NFL, a different ending. Times are a changing.

Rice is an abusive thug. He got exactly what he deserved.

His wife is so blinded by money she can't think straight, so I'll give her a pass.

FFS - even by the low standards of ATS - the responses based on " she still married him " are pretty pathetic please google :

" the difficulty of escaping an abusive relationship "

I really CBA to do your thinking for you today

a reply to: GrantedBail


You have to realize he represents the NFL just as a CEO represents a company. Any CEO of a company doing this would have been fired the next day! However because he can play football he got special treatment. Had she fallen wrong in the elevator this could easily have been murder. I dont think the NFL should have people representing them that think its ok to smack woman. Did you hear his interview just after the assault with that sometimes people get smacked but they get back up??? WTF he learned nothing and NFL is a privilege i believe he should have lost that privilege. Sadly though like many people in sports his actions are overlooked because of money and talent.

a reply to: bbracken677
ITA about the MSM circus. Yesterday evening, as I left the house, CNN was talking about this story, and when I returned 20 minutes later, CNN hadn't moved to a new topic. My heart goes out to anyone who has endured domestic violence (and also emotional battering), but I also think MSM overindulges in scandalous behavior by celebs. It was clear that Erin Whatsername was enjoying the debate; and all debates disintegrated into a collective, "Wow, the Media is getting blamed--no fair!!!"

This incident also drives home the point that Big Brother is here. No matter if you are a celebrity or a dog-walker, our private lives are played out in a transparent society. Everyone has a cell phone/camera. Most elevators have surveillance video. Security equipment was put in place to protect society from itself. But to sell (was it sold?) a security tape to TMZ is just another form of exploitation--the type that the MSM feeds on.

I want to hear news about events that matter (to me, anyway). I come here to stay up to date about Ebola and the volcano in Iceland and breaking news (that doesn't make it to MSM right away).