***Ray Rice---The Whole Video*** [Update: Ravens release Rice]

I don't think anyone's commented on this yet, but Ozzie Newsome says that the video was essentially what Ray Rice told the Ravens had happened:

“Ray had given a story to John [Harbaugh] and I,” Newsome said, according to theSun. “And what we saw on the video was what Ray said. Ray didn’t lie to me. He didn’t lie to me.”

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...nt-lie-to-me-regarding-description-of-video/

If that is the case, I don't understand how the Ravens seeing the video-tape would be a "game changer" in their abrupt decision to dump Ray Rice, other than the obvious CYA aspect once the video had gone public.

Surely Goodell has to go over this. He has put himself in that position with all his actions and rules over the past couple of years.

Sean Payton 'not knowing' still got him a year away from football. Goodell has no excuses here.

mayoclinic said:

I don't think anyone's commented on this yet, but Ozzie Newsome says that the video was essentially what Ray Rice told the Ravens had happened:



http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/10/ozzie-newsome-ray-didnt-lie-to-me-regarding-description-of-video/

If that is the case, I don't understand how the Ravens seeing the video-tape would be a "game changer" in their abrupt decision to dump Ray Rice, other than the obvious CYA aspect once the video had gone public.

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Was just coming to post this. Unreal. So Rice TOLD the revered Ozzie Nelson he whacked his fiancée, knocked her out and dragged her unconscious out of the elevator like a bag of sand? And the team felt that was a good reason to tweet that Janay "regrets" her role in the incident?

For those with aversion to clicking on PFT posts:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ens-gm-ozzie-newsome-ray-rice-didnt-lie-to-me

I had NFL Network on in the background yesterday morning as I did some work, and every time I heard Goodell and Harbaugh come on, they both came across as, well, not fully truthful. Goodell's eyes betrayed him. And the way Harbaugh rushed unasked to say he had never seen the elevator video .. rings untrue.

As a bit of a media watcher, it's intriguing to keep an eye on NFL.com and NFL Network on their coverage. To their credit, they've been unflinching, as far as I can see.

eagle eye said:

Surely Goodell has to go over this. He has put himself in that position with all his actions and rules over the past couple of years.

Sean Payton 'not knowing' still got him a year away from football. Goodell has no excuses here.

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In a perfect world that's a fair play and it contains a certain logic/makes sense but it's the NFL and $ doesn't have to be fair or make sense.

Uncle Rico said:

Was just coming to post this. Unreal. So Rice TOLD the revered Ozzie Nelson he whacked his fiancée, knocked her out and dragged her unconscious out of the elevator like a bag of sand? And the team felt that was a good reason to tweet that Janay "regrets" her role in the incident?

For those with aversion to clicking on PFT posts:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ens-gm-ozzie-newsome-ray-rice-didnt-lie-to-me

I had NFL Network on in the background yesterday morning as I did some work, and every time I heard Goodell and Harbaugh come on, they both came across as, well, not fully truthful. Goodell's eyes betrayed him. And the way Harbaugh rushed unasked to say he had never seen the elevator video .. rings untrue.

As a bit of a media watcher, it's intriguing to keep an eye on NFL.com and NFL Network on their coverage. To their credit, they've been unflinching, as far as I can see.

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I thought this was notable for several reasons. First, John Harbaugh referred to seeing the video on Monday as a "game changer" - but according to Ozzie, he had already been told what had transpired. Second, in Steve Bisciotti's letter to the Ravens season ticket holders, Bisciotti noted that he had called a meeting of the Raven's leadership council, and that they were unanimous in terminating Rice because of the "new evidence" on the video, which is at odds with Ozzie claiming that they had been told what had transpired, and the video simply corroborated it. Third, you have the Ravens' team president publicly saying something different, completely at odds with Ozzie. Finally, as you note, the Ravens publicly supported Rice and spun it in a way that made his wife share responsibility when Rice had told them what had transpired? Sounds like a mess.

There's no real way around it: either the Ravens and the NFL was told an inaccurate version of events, or they were at the very least told what had happened and turned a blind eye. The fact that the NFL suspended Rice indefinitely without making any allegations that he had mislead their initial investigation is suspicious. And obviously, any corroboration that they had received video evidence would be very, very damaging.

Anything which makes the Ravens organization look bad is manna, IMO. And it will certainly help keep the story spinning and alive. The longer it spins and the more sh*t is churned up, the greater the chance that the owners decide that Goodell is more of a liability than an asset.

I have little to add to this thread that hasn't been said. This situation could not have been handled any worse than it has by the NFL & the Ravens.

The only thing I will reiterate is that, IMO, Harbaugh and the Ravens are not taking enough heat. Goodell is taking the brunt of it, and that's fair. But Baltimore failed to discipline their player on their own, and clearly valued their offensive production over principle/doing what's right. That's pretty reprehensible.

Apparently Jim Harbaugh has a zero-tolerance policy for domestic violence, maybe he should've had a chat with his brother on the issue.

If Ozzie had proven knowledge and is not being mentioned and Goodell didn't have proven personal knowledge but the witch hunt is on, then that is not right. There has to be some consequences of this fallout within the Ravens organization

And now Steve Bisciotti is pointing the finger at NJ law enforcement:

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti told WBAL that he finds it stunning that police officers and prosecutors who saw the infamous video of Rice beating up his wife in an elevator initially arrested both Ray Rice and his now-wife, Janay, and charged them both with the same misdemeanor count of simple assault. The charge against Janay was later dropped entirely, while Rice was allowed to avoid going to trial by entering a pre-trial intervention program.

“If we had seen that video, we would’ve probably had to, we would’ve probably been told that we should wait until the court case came out. They had it. The police had it and gave them equal misdemeanors that night. Again, that’s astounding to me,” Bisciotti said. “For me to tell you the truth, it makes me look like I’m pointing fingers at other people, but they gave them equal misdemeanors.”

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ls-legal-system-inaction-on-rice-astounding/

It's true that Rice and his then-fiancee were both initially charged with simple assault, but the charges against Janay Rice were soon dropped, and Rice's charges upgraded to aggravated assault. That should have sent a clear message.

As for the deal to enter a pre-trial intervention program, that was pretty basic following state law, as the prosecutor has noted:

“People need to understand, the choice was not PTI [pre-trial intervention] versus five years state prison,” McClain said. “The choice was not PTI versus the No Early Release Act on a 10-year sentence. The parameters as they existed were: Is this a PTI case or a probation case?”

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...wouldnt-have-gone-to-jail-even-if-convicted/

That's consistent with what we've seen in other cases. Remember, Alfonzo Dennard initially got only probation after being convicted in his assault case, and then only got prison time after violating his probation by being arrested for drunk driving.

The more everyone talks, the more they just keep perpetuating the story and digging themselves a bigger hole.

I do wonder how exactly they arrest a women beaten unconscious. Do they read her those Miranda rights when she's laying on the floor? Can they cuff her and drag her off to the station without medical attention? It is bizarre to me that they charged the only injured person with anything other than being in the way of a fist.

eagle eye said:

Surely Goodell has to go over this. He has put himself in that position with all his actions and rules over the past couple of years.

Sean Payton 'not knowing' still got him a year away from football. Goodell has no excuses here.

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I believe his exact words were:

"Ignorance is not an excuse"

JMC00 said:

I believe his exact words were:

"Ignorance is not an excuse"

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Except for Jet fans.

There is no way in hell a female NFL executive saw that video and just left it on her drawer without showing it to someone else in the league office. I guarantee that video got around in the office. Goodell, at the very minimum, must have been told that the video was made available but was acquired unofficially.

The one thing that absolutely must come of this: Goodell cannot remain directly involved in disciplinary measures. He may still have credibility in other areas (not to me, but to many), but not in terms of suspending players.

ctpatsfan77 said:

The one thing that absolutely must come of this: Goodell cannot remain directly involved in disciplinary measures. He may still have credibility in other areas (not to me, but to many), but not in terms of suspending players.

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Yup.

So how can “The Enforcer” still be “The Enforcer” after so horribly failing to properly enforce on an issue of such significance? It could be that, in addition to a revamped and reconstituted NFL Security department, Goodell will have to sacrifice the role of “Enforcer,” in the same way that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones should sacrifice the role of General Manager.

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/11/if-he-stays-how-will-goodell-effectively-govern/

I can only foresee 2 outcomes from this: (1) Goodell resigns or is forced out; and (2) Goodell stays, but his disciplinary powers are significantly curtailed, and/or shifted to some other individual(s).

Can we merge all these domestic violence threads? I come here to view and talk about Patriots football

Not this stuff. There's 3-4 on the 1st page about this

mayoclinic said:

I can only foresee 2 outcomes from this: (1) Goodell resigns or is forced out; and (2) Goodell stays, but his disciplinary powers are significantly curtailed, and/or shifted to some other individual(s).

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I don't know, he's pretty slippery. I was at a Joker level of excitement early yesterday hoping this would be the end of Goodell, but now I'm almost resigned to the fact that he's going to weather this storm. I've been waiting since 2007 for him to get canned, so it's pretty disappointing...

TBR said:

Can we merge all these domestic violence threads? I come here to view and talk about Patriots football

Not this stuff. There's 3-4 on the 1st page about this

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Then don't read the thread. As far as I can tell, there are 3 threads, one of which hasn't gotten a ton of play. It's not that hard to ignore them if that's what you prefer.

mayoclinic said:

Then don't read the thread. As far as I can tell, there are 3 threads, one of which hasn't gotten a ton of play. It's not that hard to ignore them if that's what you prefer.

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I'm not reading any of them. But the thread titles are constantly there when I scan through the main section to look for more on-topic things and it's just irritating.

I just realized there's an Ignore thread feature so that's exactly what I'll do. Thanks

JMC00 said:

I believe his exact words were:

"Ignorance is not an excuse"

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There's no proven fact that Goodell knew of this tape. The only thing we know is a police officer is admitting to..illegally...sending a copy of that tape to an 'NFL Executive'. That doesn't mean Goodell knew about this.

In terms of the camprison to the Saints incident, they found evidence that Sean Peyton had gotten wind of this and chosen to ignore it. Right now we have no one claiming to have told Goodell this tape existed, showed him it or seen him watching it.

Goodell stated he got in contact with authoroties and asked for any information/evidence to be made available to him which it then wasn't. Therefore how can he be accused of being ignorant? You need to look up the definition. He asked for the information and he didn't get it, not for lack of trying.

I don't see the huge issue here. The original punishment was poor and he came out and said he got that wrong...long before this tape surfaced to the public. He amended the rule and this tape coming out was the perfect chance to exercise that rule.

There is no cover up here. The cynicism needs to stop. Goodell and the NFL had no reason to sit on this tape. If anything it would have been a blessing in disguise to exercise his new rule much sooner and avoid backlash.

This does not warrant someone losing their job over it...unless an employee of Goodell did sit on this tape for whatever reason. If Goodell has been stabbed in the back here or been let down by a member of his team, there will be a scape goat from this.

An investigation is needed and Goodell has already promised one to unveil the truth.

I personally don't believe a journalist who could be trying to stir the pot with a source he isn't allowed to name!!!

UK_Pat37 said:

There's no proven fact that Goodell knew of this tape. The only thing we know is a police officer is admitting to..illegally...sending a copy of that tape to an 'NFL Executive'. That doesn't mean Goodell knew about this.

In terms of the camprison to the Saints incident, they found evidence that Sean Peyton had gotten wind of this and chosen to ignore it. Right now we have no one claiming to have told Goodell this tape existed, showed him it or seen him watching it.

Goodell stated he got in contact with authoroties and asked for any information/evidence to be made available to him which it then wasn't. Therefore how can he be accused of being ignorant? You need to look up the definition. He asked for the information and he didn't get it, not for lack of trying.

I don't see the huge issue here. The original punishment was poor and he came out and said he got that wrong...long before this tape surfaced to the public. He amended the rule and this tape coming out was the perfect chance to exercise that rule.

There is no cover up here. The cynicism needs to stop. Goodell and the NFL had no reason to sit on this tape. If anything it would have been a blessing in disguise to exercise his new rule much sooner and avoid backlash.

This does not warrant someone losing their job over it...unless an employee of Goodell did sit on this tape for whatever reason. If Goodell has been stabbed in the back here or been let down by a member of his team, there will be a scape goat from this.

An investigation is needed and Goodell has already promised one to unveil the truth.

I personally don't believe a journalist who could be trying to stir the pot with a source he isn't allowed to name!!!

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Mr. Goodell? Is that you?