Ray Rice: A Testimony to the NFL’s Offseason

Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens are not free from the impact the offseason of football has on society.

Ray Rice and his fiancée were involved in a minor altercation at a casino a few days ago. The details are still vague right now, but there is one thing that remains certain: what is up with NFL players and the offseason?

This will not receive as much attention as Darren Sharper, who happens to be one of the worst cases, as you will see. Though Sharper is no longer an active player, he still adds to the NFL’s reputation in regards to problems with the law while not playing football.

Thankfully the Ravens have been rarely afflicted with the offseason curse (as I like to call it) that NFL players seem to have. The Ravens could not avoid encountering it again, even if it is a minor incident.

Since the Ray Lewis incident in 2000 to 2009, there have been 11 Ravens arrested and nine of those have been during the offseason. Former Raven Rolando McClain found himself in legal troubles for the third time in 18 months according to Tampa Bay Times in his hometown before retiring back in 2013.

But if you look across the NFL, this is not an uncommon thing.

NFL players seem to have problems remaining in control of themselves when they are not knocking heads on Sunday afternoons.

These football players seem to have a lot of anger and other emotions built up inside, which they release during a game. But during the offseason, they do not seem to be able to control them.

Certainly, this problem is never dealt with except with the individuals who commit the crime. NFL players keep getting into trouble with the law in many different forms.

There are examples for both, but often these players get out any serious consequences (not ignoring those who have felt the pain of justice). I find it almost as an ego problem.

They are these rich players who almost believe they are outside of the law, or should be able to openly do things without being reprimanded for it (such as Rice and his incident with his fiancée).

Not to say Rice fits this, but it makes since reports are that he openly hit his fiancée in public.

There are always the players that seem to be guilty but end up paying up a large amount of money to make the problem disappear.

The Ravens have not made any official statements about this, but most often the organization does not unless they are “pressured” by the public to do so.

It was a minor incident, but an incident nonetheless that I would expect them to speak about, because this is a bigger issue in keeping NFL players in line. And it is an issue I rarely see talked about, unless something bad happens with an NFL player connected.

The Ravens have acknowledged the situation, but will probably make a standard issue response if one is made.

Thankfully this was a minor incident, and the Ravens have fortunately not been a part of some of the bigger incidents in recent past that have plagued NFL players. Rice knows better than to do something else like this  again (at least I hope so).

The last thing the Ravens need is controversy within the locker room. But if anything is certain in the NFL, this will not be the last incident, whether for the Ravens or any other team.