Up until now I’ve stood by Ray Rice. I’ve lauded his humility and his apparent willingness to fall on the proverbial sword for the benefit of his family.
A three-minute video certainly changed that.
Like many of you this morning I’m stunned by the video released by TMZ capturing Ray Rice hitting then fiancée Janay Palmer not once, but twice.
So many thoughts are swimming through my head but the one that resonates most is Rice’s casual disregard for Palmer after she hits her head on the elevator rail knocking her unconscious.
He doesn’t appear upset.
He’s not rushing to her aid.
There’s absolutely no sense of urgency.
It almost seems as if he’s been there and done it before.
Some will say that this is an issue between Rice, his wife and their family and to a certain degree, that’s true. If they can move on and work through their personal problems then so be it. Let’s all move on and wish them the best.
But it’s not that easy – not when you are a public figure caught on video.
Not when you were once the team’s spokesperson for the green flag of M&T Bank.
Not when you were once a leader in the making for the Baltimore Ravens, a torch that Ray Lewis willingly passed along to Rice.
The team support is admirable but now it’s misplaced.
The ownership and management have all stood behind Rice and his family’s efforts to deal with this issue. Teammates, most notably Torrey Smith, have had Rice’s back. But that support in light of this newly released video now calls into question what the Baltimore Ravens stand for.
To stand by this league mandated two-game suspension and hope that the dust eventually settles is at best naïve. Two games is no punishment given this new evidence. You have to wonder, if this video was available previously, how did the Atlantic County legal system conclude they didn’t have a case against Rice?
How could NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in good conscience be so lenient with Rice?
And now that they’ve ruled on the case, it’s apparently done for AC and the Commish, right? They are sheltered by the shield of double jeopardy, right?
It doesn’t have to be done for the Baltimore Ravens.
As an organization the Ravens must take a strong stand on domestic violence for the benefit of the fans, corporate sponsors, the league and victims everywhere.
Even Rice’s teammates are deserving of a harsher penalty for Rice.
All of their hard work during the offseason and the sacrifices made to improve individually and as a team could circle the drain as this now monumental distraction born of inexcusable behavior places them at risk. They too are collateral damage of Rice’s heinous acts.
The Ravens need to deal with Rice severely and even then will it be enough to save face?
If the Ravens do in fact issue their own form of punishment to Rice, many will claim that they are simply crumbling to public pressure as part of an effort to stave off massive monetary bleeding.
And on some level they would be right!
But what choice do the Ravens have? If they let this two-game suspension stand the organization will forever be categorized as villainous, greedy and morally bankrupt.
And they may never rise from the ashes of fan contempt across the nation.
Look, Ray Rice isn’t the first NFL player to strike a woman and unfortunately he won’t be the last. He’s just the first to be caught on videotape and therein lays a huge difference. Others could and have explained away bad behavior in a he said, she said kind of way. They’ve said they’re sorry and moved on.
A two-game suspension is not an “I’m sorry.” Not anymore. Not with this visual evidence.
It’s more like, “Boy, I got off easy there!”
And guess what?
Easy won’t cut it any longer in dealing with Ray Rice.
If the Baltimore Ravens are going to stand for something good they need stand up and make this right. Hiding behind a gifted two-game suspension because they think it gives the team a better chance to win in 2014 isn’t anywhere near close enough to doing the right thing.
You’ve got to stand for something or you will fall for anything.
Do the right thing Steve Bisciotti for all of us who still care about the Baltimore Ravens.
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