Things About to Get Ugly in Baltimore

Tunescribe said:

Hate to say it, but Harbaugh comes out of this report looking pretty good.

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I dont know about that.

Yes he did speak up against it, but then upon encountering resistence fell in line with the marching orders. This makes him part of the cover up. Those details might make him look the best out of the four and he might kepy his job save by playing along but there is no way I can say that he has any form of integrity after he folded like that.

You either do the right thing or you don't. There are no nuances.

Sicilian said:

So... We listen to Florio when he's not talking about the Patriots? Do I have that right?

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While your point of hypocrisy has validity, my biggest issue with Florio is that after he was bought by NBC, the following occurred:
1. He lost his spine in criticizing the NFL
2. He would take shots at the Pats because he knew that whatever he posted about them would generate hits on his site.

In this scandal, he has joined the lynch-hungry masses in criticizing Goodell. NBC won't cut him so long as he isn't leading the charge. I do not agree with all of his commentary on the issue, but it's nice to see a glimmer of the old NFL-cynic he used to be. And for once, he isn't meaninglessly targeting the Pats for easy website hits.

But let's be honest, this isn't just Florio who's bring critical. A lot of people are. Florio just happens to be popular and he offers an easily digestible commentary.

Pessimistic Pete said:

Does it really matter anymore?

The Ravens/NFL will deny it, throw some BS legal jargon answers. Fans will be pissed, but won't actually stop watching the games. The NFL will keep making billion of dollars and the media will get bored of and move on to the next story.

I'm sick of this story now. Not because it doesn't deserve to be scrutinized, but because it's not leading to anything. We already know the NFL lied, they are going to keep lying. The NFL is a bunch of scumbags and its never going to change.

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You don't know the NFL lied, you're just drawing your own conclusion from what little info you actually have and what you read from media, who's views vary from outlet to outlet.

I don't think that the nfl will deny any findings in the report. They have insisted on this independent review and they'd look stupid to deny any of its findings.

I think the report does matter. I have a feeling the Ravens may not have been as open about this as they like to say they have been.

I still don't think Goodell, or any senior official, had seen this tape.

SB39 said:

I've been saying the same thing since day 1. No one cares that Rice entered a diversionary program and charges were dropped, but damn the NFL to hell for suspending him 2 games when they should have suspended him 6!

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I do not know the issue well, but from a little research, first-time offenders are not penalized steeply, although it varies by state. I think they consider rehabilitation the priority, rather than punitive measures--although I doubt this is the first instance of him striking his gf.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6512900_domestic-violence-laws-punishment.html

But I don't think it's the number of games that's the issue. The scandal is in the cover-up.

fxkane said:

Interesting how Coach Harbagh wanted to cut Rice immediately--upon seeing the outside-the-elevator tape. And was countered by all the higher-ups.

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His brother is cited as being a hard-ass about spouse abuse too.

The first video of him dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator should have been enough to have him suspended indefinately pending the outcome of the investigation. Anything less is ********. The cover up/damage control started there. What did they think happened inside...Batman sleeping gas? They knew the score from the get go. What arrogance thinking they could minimize the damage/manipulate the system. How awesome is it that the second tape surfaced and blew the lid off.

The organization needs to loose a first and a 1 mil fine....minimum. The president has already been set...for the egregious crime of taping from the wrong location. Anything less would be more "good ole' boy " favoritism.

The way the Pats cut Hernandez loose so quickly, irregardless of the financial ramifications, makes me proud of this organization. I also feel they would handle a "Ray Rice" situation equally as expediently and decisively.

Screw the haters. This is the best run organization in the NFL... on and off the field.

Ozymandias said:

The Ravens are a classless organization run by classless people. How could they ever be expected to make sound judgment calls based on moral ethics?

These are the same people that idolized a known scumbag and even gave the guy a statue. This "story" should surprise no-one. The Ravens are, and forever will be scum as long as the same ownership group and management are in place.

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They stole the Browns from Cleveland, plain and simple.

Gave Modell a desk in a broom closet somewhere in the bowels of their stadium and made him think that he was still part of the team. They also tried to swindle their original logo from a fan and pay him nothing. The fan sued and won.

Somehow, someway this will be some how linked to "Spygate" by the scribes... and somehow, someway what BB did in plain site will be more egregious than these actions by the Ravens...

Do you all remember allegedly about how mad Goodell was when BB "violated" the memo in plain view, imagine the outrage when he realizes that he was duped by these guys in secret??

Even "Bountygate" was based on a lot of conjecture and hearsay information, this seems to have more legs and a paper trail... stay tuned, get your popcorn ready..

This is shaping up to be a real test for the new and improved NFL...... but there is little confidence in any in Goodell doing his job.

Ivan said:

Sup, he knocked her out cold for an extended period of time. Concussions like that most certainly fall under the category of "serious and permanent bodily harm.

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I wonder if the league has any "expert witnesses" lined up on that talking point

If a prosecutor doesn't deem that worthy of a jail sentence i have no idea what it would take to get them to charge it, short of a dead body. And if anything his behavior after knocking her out demonstrated such a shocking lack of concern or conscience that I have to believe he's done it before. Any normal person would have been on their knees trying to help her an get help, he's standing there like she's an inconvenience.

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Getting sick of this league myself. Same happened during the Lewis/Carruth era, same happened big time during "spygate."

I got your taping from an enclosed location right here, Rodgah...

LOL at ravens. Fans can never talk again

This story just goes with what I've been saying since the second video came out 2 weeks ago. The Ravens, more then Goddell deserve the most blame in this cover up. They knew what happened all along. Newsome came out and admitted that RR was completely honest with them from the get go. Complete opposite of what Biscotti said.

Biscotti is a scum bag. Worse then Rice in my opinion. He begged Goddell to give Rice a 2 game suspension, publicly supported RR all spring/summer, then once the **** hit the fan, he threw Rice under the bus, and portrayed him has a liar, despite Rice being honest from the get go. If Goddell just gave RR the 6 game suspension, this would have never have been a story....

Tunescribe said:

Hate to say it, but Harbaugh comes out of this report looking pretty good.

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I hate to say this, but from this story, Rice comes out looking better in this then we all thought, or at least I did....

It confirms that was the first time of any type of violence in that relationship, the days/weeks/months after Rice shows a lot of guilt and remorse for his actions, and he was thrown under the bus, and pretty much had his career and name tarnished by a billionaire scum bag owner trying to save face.

Rice made a horrible mistake, but he fessed up and was honest about it, but because that organization prioritizes winning football games, the Ravens did a TERRIBLE job with this cover up, and completely sold out Rice. Now RR is the face of Domestic Violence Abuse, even though he was hardly the first in that league to do it.

The Ravens should absolutely get **** on for how they approached this.
Harbaugh (even though I hate him) should get credit for wanting to cut a very talented player for ethical reasons
Goddell should get fired for favoring the Ravens -- doing them a competitive favor because he likes their owner.

Hopefully this gets people talking about Ray Lewis again too -- he got way too much of a free pass on his issue -- he's even got a tv commentator now where he claims his situation (in which he says he was falsely accused) and Rice's situation are nowhere near the same.

luuked said:

I dont know about that.

Yes he did speak up against it, but then upon encountering resistence fell in line with the marching orders. This makes him part of the cover up. Those details might make him look the best out of the four and he might kepy his job save by playing along but there is no way I can say that he has any form of integrity after he folded like that.

You either do the right thing or you don't. There are no nuances.

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But he's low man on the totem pole. He took a stand with his boss and was overruled. What's he supposed to do otherwise? Quit over it?

Look how the Pats handled Hernandez, and then appreciate what we have here.

We all strongly suspected the Ravens were a scumbag organization. We all suspected Goodell was a scumbag commissioner. What we're seeing here is rare confirmation of our suspicions, which is part of the reason this story has legs.

I'm also curious what the hell is going on in New Jersey. I'm hoping the pitchfork mob finds their way to the doorstep there in Atlantic City after they're done with Goodell and the Ravens.

chasa said:

You have to imagine that goodell needs to step down now, and the next guy up has to take a first round pick from the ravens at a minimum.

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This is not about draft picks. This isn't a question of fair competition. It's a question of integrity and decency. The punishment needs to be address the failure of leadership and morality, and thus, the appropriate question is whether the ownership group needs to go the way of Donald Sterling or whether an appropriate lesser punishment can be levied by the league.

Tunescribe said:

But he's low man on the totem pole. He took a stand with his boss and was overruled. What's he supposed to do otherwise? Quit over it?

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Imagine what would happen if he had suddenly resigned over this.

I am assuming that John Harbaugh's post game press conference will be a must watch. I am assuming that there won't be a lot of questions about the Browns.

Captain Cliche said:

The organization needs to loose a first and a 1 mil fine....minimum.

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As a not so minor point, IIRC, the NFL bylaws allow a $500K fine from the commissioner (or $250K for a person). Anything more than that requires a 3/4 vote of the owners.

One of the interesting consistencies is that Ray reportedly told a very accurate story to the ravens and the league. Partly because he had been such a good guy - the first to volunteer for every opportunity - the execs did not want to believe the worst. And then they all said he lied or was ambiguous.