The NFL Has Officially Reinstated Ray Rice (but there is NO war on women!)

[niyad]

The NFL Has Officially Reinstated Ray Rice


Former Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice won an appeal last Friday that makes him immediately eligible to return to the NFL. This past summer, Rice was given a two-game ban, then in September, an indefinite ban, by the NFL after a video was released of Rice punching his fiancee, Janay Palmer (now Janay Rice), unconscious in an
elevator then dragging her out. Initially, both Rice and his fiancee were arrested on simple assault charges, but charges against his fiancee were dropped. After the NFL announced the two-game suspension, activists were outraged that the discipline imposed was no worse than the punishment a player would receive for minor offenses. Then, on September 8, TMZ released a video of the February assault. Public outcry was swift. The NFL issued a statement saying that the League had not seen the video before it was leaked by TMZ and announced that Rice’s suspension would be “indefinite.”

An employee who worked for the hotel in which the footage was shot claimed the NFL had seen the video before they decided to suspend Rice.

Rice appealed his his indefinite suspension, claiming that he was sanctioned twice for the same conduct. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell maintained that he had been “misled” when he issued the two-game suspension since he did not know of the extent of Rice’s attack on his now-wife.
Arbitrator, former Judge Barbara S. Jones, however, found no evidence that Rice lied to the NFL about the domestic assault or that Goodell was misled. To the contrary, Judge Jones found that “any failure on the part of the League to understand the level of violence was not due to Rice’s description of the event, but to the inadequacy of words to convey the seriousness of domestic violence.”

“That the League did not realize the severity of the conduct without a visual record,” she continued, “also speaks to their admitted failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely.”

. . . .

http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2014/12/01/the-nfl-reinstated-ray-rice-over-the-holiday-weekend/

[taught_me_patience]

1. It was a judge that reinstated Rice

and teams aren't exactly lining up to sign him.

[niyad]

2. thanks for that encouraging little bit of information

[Threedifferentones]

16. It was inevitable because by union agreement he cannot be punished twice.

The league gave him a two game suspension when they hoped the tapes would not leak out, then tried to back pedal when they did. That violates the labor contract.

The whole episode certainly does display a lack of concern for domestic violence, which in turn probably indicates a lack of respect for women. The commissioner and whoever else was involved really should have been fired long ago.

Still, legal decision was the correct one and would have been the same regardless of what sort of crime was in question because, again, the league by bargaining agreement is not allowed to up the punishment on a player after issuing an initial ruling, essentially the same principle as the court system's ban on "double jeopardy."

[niyad]

12. apparently that information is incorrect.

ESPN reports that at least four teams have already shown interest.

[Calista241]

15. Call me when he signs a contract.

"Interest" is probably being leaked by his agent in an effort to get teams to move on him.

[DefenseLawyer]

3. His victim is his wife.

I don't think his wife would agree with your position that her husband being unemployed is somehow good for her. He's gone through the legal system. She has chosen to stay with her husband, which is her business, not yours or mine. Saying he is a scumbag who should never work again is all well and good in the abstract; it shows you are rightly opposed to domestic violence, as all thinking people are. However, in the real world I'm not sure how you can say that taking food off her table helps her or her family. If the behavior has changed and the violence isn't continuing, I'm pretty sure if given her choice she would rather her husband have a job as they work through these issues.

[niyad]

4. nice way to miss the point. but keep trying. what makes you think that they are "working through

these issues"? do you have any idea how few batterers EVER reform, just for starters?

[Skidmore]

8. Or who blame the battered for being caught?

I am alarmed that she is out there taking the blame for his violence toward her and trying to get him a job. Does not speak well to any acknowledgement of responsibility or empathy on his part.

[niyad]

10. thank you for posting this.

[geek tragedy]

5. The indefinite suspension wasn't for what he did

but rather a mere pr move in response to the video. It was deserved, problem is the NFL had already punished him.

[Gman]

6. The arbitrator ruled correctly.

And that has nothing whatsoever to do with women.

[niyad]

7. wrong. this has everything to do with women--starting with rice's abusive behaviour, the failure of

the nfl to deal with that (tapping him on the wrist does not count), and only making a pr move when the outrage became so vocal, showing that, to them, pr is more important than women.

[Gman]

14. The arbitrator ruled correctly on the case

As it was presented to her. I doubt what you say was any part of the Union contract or labor relations policy of the NFL.

[GeorgeGist]

9. That's some twisted logic, Judge Barbara.

But I'm sure battered women appreciate your paying lip-service to the 'seriousness of domestic violence'.

[tammywammy]

11. The judge was correct. The NFL fucked this up.

According to his union rules he couldn't be punished twice for the same instance. Rice isn't guaranteed to be signed to another team.

The NFL fucked this up.

[niyad]

13. and this is not the first time they have turned a blind eye to domestic or sexual violence.

[GummyBearz]

18. So...

The NFL is the new judicial system in this country? Here is a hint: if he was in jail, he wouldn't be eligible to play football. So why is he not in jail?

"After the five-minute court hearing, Rice applied for New Jersey’s pretrial intervention program, which allows for charges to be dismissed against first-time offenders who participate in the program and meet certain conditions. The county prosecutor will decide whether Rice is allowed to enter the program."

Btw the NFL doesn't hate women. I see lots of them dancing around during the games I enjoy watching. You should find something that you enjoy and spend time doing it. Life is full of fun things

[MrScorpio]

17. Exactly.

Pure incompentence.

[The2ndWheel]

19. He's not in jail

If a court doesn't convict him, and the collectively bargained agreement between the NFL and NFLPA doesn't have some clause in it somewhere, what is anyone supposed to do? Is it ok if he got a job outside of football? Is that still a war on women?

The NFL should've suspended Rice indefinitely with pay right off the bat if they could've per the CBA, and then let the legal process do whatever it does. Because they didn't, they're more of the story than what happened. Then the NFL tried to cover its own ass, and it didn't work.