Baltimore Ravens: NFL Relenting on Ray Rice Punishment

Dec 16, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Ray Rice could possibly be reinstated in the NFL.

It’s true, he could be reinstated in a few weeks pending the decision of an appeal that he filed.

But this is the part that really confused me. He could be going to another NFL team.

I consider myself a critical thinker, and the fact that the NFL is considering allowing Rice a reinstatement in the middle of a season, even if it’s with a new team, has me thinking that they were wrong to suspend him indefinitely in the first place.

And letting him back in during the season is a way to make amends and cover their backs.

As we know, Rice was terminated earlier during the 2014 season by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL after a video of domestic violence against his then-fiance, now wife, went viral.

But the real reason why we are here today at this point is because there is still discussion over whether enough action was taken in the first place when he was suspended for two games.

I say yes. And I wholeheartedly believe the NFL and Ravens felt as if it was too.

Further, I believe that they knew of the whole tape; not just the part that was released initially. They just didn’t expect for it to ever come to surface, nor have the impact that it did.

And based off of the pressure the NFL received from the media when the whole tape was released, they felt the need to press the situation more to “look” as if they were handling the issue. This is also something I pointed out in an article I wrote earlier this season. Their hands were tied in a knot, which may have led them to punish Rice more harshly than they were allowed by rule.

<Editor’s note – The Ray Rice controversy has been just that – a controversy with impassioned opinions all over the spectrum. As a Baltimore sports blog, it is difficult to leave it alone; but we are a SPORTS blog, not a cultural commentary blog. Our writers are representative of the differing opinions out there. Here is another take from our staff. Hopefully, this will be the last from us on Ray Rice. We are going to emphasize our bread and butter of sports analysis — commenting on what transpires on the field of play.>