The entire Ray Rice elevator knockout video has finally been released. It’s very disturbing. What’s more than disturbing is the fact that the NFL gave Ray a 2 game suspension for this. This is the same league that suspended a guy a year for smoking dope. (okay that was stupid when the rules are quite clear.)
Take a look at the video and then ask yourself what kind of people are running the NFL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY5DwdnkZOQ
(For some reason I can’t get this video to embed.)
Please share widely!
Bob Neer says
I think everyone agrees. But, sadly, the video has been removed.
JimC says
… and harrowing.
whoaitsjoe says
I would expect the team to show him the door. If the NFL REALLY, REALLY wanted to take a stand against this behavior, Ray Rice would be shown the door and not get signed by anyone else.
Instead, he gets a quick suspension, and the team talks about how reprehensible his behavior is while counting the hours til he can get back on the field.
JimC says
Oh, never mind. I’m sure you’re right!
JimC says
I thought you were saying the Pats would definitely show him out, but now I see I was too quick. Carry on …
whoaitsjoe says
this guy.
petr says
… Yes it is a crime. So what if Ernie is completely correct? The NFL is not the police. If the police arrest and convict Rice then I’m sure he’ll be otherwise unable to play football (ref, Burress, Plaxico) . If the police declines to arrest and convict Rice then it’s not up to the NFL to mete out the punishment Ernie thinks he deserves. How is it we feel entitled to object to the NFL’s failure to adequately punish yet, for some reason, refuse to call out the police on this matter?
Domestic abuse — That is to say a man beating a woman, be she girlfriend, fiancee or wife — happens all the time. Why are we outraged only now? Because it’s caught on video? Why are we outraged that the NFL isn’t a fair arbiter? Whoever said they should be?
centralmassdad says
The NFL is not the police, but it does have a significant interest in NOT having a public image of being a league full of violent criminals. To that end the player contracts have “morality clauses” that allow the league to discipline players for off-the field conduct.
That is where the two game suspension came in. EB is right that the penalty is absurdly easy, in light of the contents of the video. I believe that the league has since admitted error in the 2-game suspension. But, even though they now regret not being tougher in the first place, I doubt that they can go back and re-open the matter without running afoul of the CBA.
centralmassdad says
I could be wrong about the CBA…
tedf says
This seems morally obtuse to me. No doubt Rice’s contract has a morals clause. The NFL and the Ravens need not continue to be associated with him. Their choice speaks volumes.
petr says
So what if it does? Is it Ernies job — or yours? Or mine? — to enforce any such “morals clause”? Or does the presence of a “morals clause” give you and he any more right or reason to be upset over this? What about the presence of a “morals clause” makes my point “morally obtuse”? It neither follows nor signifies…
Rice has been indicted over this. He may yet serve time. Who knows? I don’t. But I’m certainly not turning to the NFL for either guidance or punishment. Not my place. Not theirs either. Nor, it seems must be said, is it yours…
Christopher says
It seems like there is always second-guessing too light vs. too harsh on stuff like this. Why is there not either a standard code or more specific contractual language that says if you do x the consequence is y so everyone knows exactly what to expect and everyone is treated the same for the same offense?
fenway49 says
They created it following this incident and it’s been praised by advocates. I think the minimum suspension is 6 games under the new code. They took a big PR hit on the initial Rice suspension of only 2 games.
ryepower12 says
The headlines were about the six game suspension… But in reality, the new rule is up to six games. the minimum is the status quo – two. It’s totally up to the commissioner whether that’s extended.
What happened here – if the NFL was serious – should have been a lifetime ban.
fenway49 says
I guess. They need to go much tougher than 2 to 6.
I haven’t seen this video but based on everyone’s reaction he might well get a lifetime ban. The Ravens fans gave the bastard a standing ovation at training camp but the video was enough that the team dumped him with no hesitation. Your move, NFL.
centralmassdad says
All I have seen is six games for a first offense; band following a second, and the actual letter setting out the new rules, which was published last week by ESPN, doesn’t say “up to” either.
Doubtless there will still be weasel room, for expample what is a first offense, etc. Time will tell.
ryepower12 says
Here’s just one link I found detailing a lot of the problems with the changes, basically giving Goodell almost unlimited discretion (or the next Commission, since Goodell doesn’t seem long for the job).
There are two main points in this being very spongy and mostly a PR stunt:
1). The new policy allows for “mitigating factors” to be used to decrease the length of the suspension. Bear in mind the final arbiter for how that’s defined is the Commissioner — and this is a sport that has proven it will try to blame the victim whenever possible. The notion of a six game mandatory suspension is about as real as a loaded back-end of contract in the league for an aging veteran.
2) In most cases, the new rule will only kick in once (or should we say “if”) it goes through the court, even if the evidence of abuse is overwhelming. This despite the fact that most victims never file charges. The rule clearly spells out that unless there’s something ‘egregious,’ the NFL won’t step in during a first offense, Of course, we’ve learned the meaning of egregious to the NFL — anything that embarrasses them… egregiously.
kbusch says
I think, petr, there are a number of good points you are making if I could take a fire extinguisher to your not untypically inflammatory style:
1. Woman abuse remains way too widespread. We should not just be concerned about it when it happens on videotape or among famous people. In fact, a typical behavior of abusers is to hide the abuse carefully. Violent abusers often attempt to curtail the woman’s social contacts simply to keep it hidden. Further, as women are often financially dependent or emotionally tied to those who abuse them, woman abuse requires a pro-active, not a lazy response from law enforcement.
2. Maybe the flip side of saying, “Hey, the NFL aren’t the police!” is “Where the Fuck are the police?” Clearly, this woman’s life is at risk and Mr. Rice should be behind bars. There have been too many tragedies. The NFL, it should be pointed out, cannot incarcerate Mr. Rice. That is what should be done and done immediately. So complaining about the NFL, populated as it is by personalities we can name, might be more inviting than complaining about law enforcement, but it’s law enforcement that most deserves our complaints.
In that regard, CMD’s point is a valid one. Woman abuse, sometimes treated as a joke, has to earn the condemnation of society. It’s especially useful if it is condemned by such masculinity-defining organizations as the NFL.
centralmassdad says
filed charges immediately, and it was reported at the time that the police had obtained “video evidence of the blow.” The DA gave him something of very easy deal.
damnthetorpedos says
A vicious pop-off…in the slow-mo, you can see her face bouncing off the metal railing – think about the amount of force it takes to knock someone unconscious! Shame on Goodell; his NFL may not be the ‘police’, but they have an image and good conduct expectations that should be upheld both on AND off the field. Players must remember that boys and young men are aspiring to this game, and around the league its members (from the owners all the way down) should be ostracizing and loudly condemning such behavior.
jconway says
With the key difference that there is still time to save Janay Palmer’s life from this psychopath. I hope the NFL, the Ravens, the media, and everyone close to the couple can do what they can to take him away from her so this behavior doesn’t happen again.
Not to sound too much like a Helen Lovejoy, but giving a slap on the wrist to these kinds of images could indeed have a profound effect on young males in teaching them the wrong thing to do. I can already see this kind of video getting shared between classes and glorified in all the wrong ways. It may ruin his career and his life, but hard to argue he isn’t ruining or threatening hers. And hard to argue he no longer deserves the fame, money, and influence an NFL player can exert in our society.
jotaemei says
I’m guessing you didn’t mean to say that he still deserved the fame, money, and influence.
jconway says
By the Ravens. Now I hope he is prosecuted.
centralmassdad says
and got probation for a year after he completes a counseling course. No jail time. And the DA had that video when making that deal.
Sheesh.
kbusch says
If this were a respectable European country, the DA would resign.
jconway says
What a terrible call. Particularly when the evidence is so airtight and gruesome.
centralmassdad says
New Jersey doesn’t have District Attorneys, which is an elected position. It has “County Prosecutors” which are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Gov. Christie kicked a number of long-serving Democratic County Prosecutors in 2012, for obvious political reasons. The guy on this case came in during that sweep.
JimC says
… people seem to be assuming the NFL had this video. I don’t know why, it seems unlikely that anyone saw this before today.
jconway says
Have no idea how TMZ got a hold of it, but they have been on a roll this year.
Jasiu says
The NFL claims this is the first they’ve seen of the video.
In response, they’ve suspended Rice indefinitely.
eb3-fka-ernie-boch-iii says
Rice won’t be indicted. He was given a pre=trial probation like sentence for this.
Everyone pretended there wasn’t an elevator cam. That’s how the system including the police, the NFL, and the sports media dealt with this.
petr says
… The fact that you think this exonerates your high –and erratically applied– moral dudgeon is only reason number #33,221,353 not to take you seriously. The fact that you term me ‘wrong’ indicates an equally erratic literacy as I made no statements of facts, only a series of if-then conditionals, followed by a series of questions that asked you where you get off… If you term me ‘wrong’ it’s only because you don’t wish to answer the questions I’ve asked.
Here is a clear statement of fact: You care little about the woman in this video. You don’t care that she may be in an abusive relationship. You don’t care how badly she was hurt. You just want to use her pain and victimization to stick it to some other males at the NFL. You want this so badly you simply gloss over the prosecutors actions. This is no different from your previous diary telling victims of sexual assault what to do and who to talk to… and all your rantings against female politicians… and all your fantasies about using Linda Pizzuti Henry to make John Henry uncomfortable. Your sexism isn’t just a character flaw, but rather a core component of who you are and it is a stain upon this blog.
And you hide behind a pseudonym to do it so you’re a coward also. That’s a fact.
eb3-fka-ernie-boch-iii says
The police had it. The NFL should of had it. It existed and today is unthinkable for a complex like the casino he was in that had cameras everywhere did not have them in the elevators.
Would Bob Kraft dod a business deal on speculation of what happened in the elevator? Of course not. He’d get the tape and if you told him it didn’t exist he’d assume it showed the worst.
kirth says
TMZ says they interviewed an employee of the hotel who worked there at the time, and who claims the NFL was shown the video soon after the incident.
sco says
This is from the Ravens official Twitter account, back in May when the news first broke:
JimC says
But, in its way, probably true. Most of us would regret being hit by Ray Rice.
ryepower12 says
Don’t even know what to say… Just ugh.
sco says
But here’s a screenshot. It really did happen.
rollbiz says
Not to excuse it, but to provide a bit of context: The Twitter post by the Ravens was part of a series of posts paraphrasing a press conference.