It is disappointing that I will not be with my teammates for the first two games of the season, but that’s my fault. As I said earlier, I failed in many ways. But, Janay and I have learned from this. We have become better as a couple and as parents. I am better because of everything we have experienced since that night. The counseling has helped tremendously. My goal is to earn back the trust of the people, especially the children, I let down because of this incident. I am a role model and I take that responsibility seriously. My actions going forward will show that. – Ray Rice on Raven’s website following announcement of suspension
It’s ya brother, with another edition of SportsTalk With AJ ROK. It seems like New Rochelle’s own, Ray Rice, a three-time Pro Bowler and standout during Baltimore’s run to the Super Bowl title in the 2012 season is at the center of news world once again, but not for his achievements on the football field. Friday morning, after the announcement a day before, that Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice was suspended for first two games of the 2014-15 for the assaulting his then fiancée, now wife, Janay and causing serious bodily harm, there were many mixed emotions and responses, reactions and even a few rants from every news outlet, sportscaster and anyone with a twitter account.
“While not having Ray for the first two games is significant to our team, we respect the league’s decision and believe it is fair. We appreciate the thorough process the league office used to evaluate the incident with Ray Rice. The time the Commissioner spent with Ray and Janay is typical of the extra steps the NFL takes when making decisions regarding discipline issues.” Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome also spoke about Rice in the statement
“The league’s two-game suspension of Ravens star Ray Rice is a joke, and sends a terrible message that the NFL doesn’t take domestic violence seriously.” Jane McManus, ESPNW
The press had much to say on the subject, CBSSports.com’s headline read Goodell fails brutally with two-game suspension for scary Ray Rice, The New York Times wrote Suspended for Abuse, Then Patted on the Back: Ray Rice’s Suspension Is Followed by Praise, USA Today Sports posted, Stephen A. Smith’s offensive rant about Ray Rice and domestic violence, speaking on ESPN’s sports debate talk-show, First Take (which cause much outrage on twitter), while ESPN News posted, DEAR NFL, WOMEN MATTER …, Bleacher Report: Ray Rice Suspension Shows Just How Much NFL Cares About Domestic Violence, The NY Post went with: Outrage over Ray Rice’s 2-games suspension for ‘knocking out’ wife. The Huffington Post headline read, Ray Rice’s Two-Game Suspension Makes No Sense To No One But The NFL… basically you get the picture, there was much outrage!
ESPN’s Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) broke the news on twitter: NFL is suspending Ravens RB Ray Rice for the first two games this season, per sources. The suspension is expected to be announced today.
The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiecsun) confirmed Schefter’s report in a tweet: Ray Rice will get a two-game suspension. Probably best that #Ravens could have hoped for.
Sports Illustrated’s Doug Farrar (@SI_DougFarrar) provided Ravens head coach John Harbaugh’s initial reaction to the news: Harbaugh just said of Rice suspension that he made mistake, paid a consequence, and it’s good for kids to understand that it works that way
Keith Olbermann explains on his show, ‘how sports sexism let the NFL get away with suspending a wife-beater for two games when an on-field stomp got another player a five-game suspension.
There were far too many reactions to cover in this limit space, but I wanted to share some of the random responses with you. Its clear to see everyone has an opinion. There are those who want to use this as a banner for domestic violence, some who think the suspension isn’t long enough, and a few who are still standing by Rice.
Rice was suspended the first two games of the regular season, but is eligible to participate in training camp and all of Baltimore’s preseason games and fined a total of $529,411.24 — the combined total of two game checks for this year and one check from last season. He will miss season opener against AFC North champions, Cincinnati Bengals, Sept 7 and the Sept. 11 game on Thursday night against another AFC North rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Below if a compilations of videos reactions the suspension has provoked. Check them out and leave your feedback in the comment section. Do you believe the suspension was fair or should there be a stiffer penalty? Is the media scrutiny warranted or a bit too much? Whether you support Rice or not, agree with the suspension or not, we want to hear what you think, holla back!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries?list=PLN5HklqACm4dveiXICS5bqc36ThrbndY6]
