Ray Rice - Roger Goodell

[John K]

I'm curious to hear people's opinions on the Ray Rice situation, and the fallout since the video was released. Do you think Roger Goodell will/should be axed? I think there will be quite a bit of pressure from various organizations and pundits calling for his head, but I'd be fairly surprised if he actually ends up getting fired over this. He certainly didn't handle it very well. I don't believe he lied about not seeing the video before, but I also have a hard time believing that the NFL couldn't have gotten their hands on a copy of it, if they had really wanted to see it.

[LTown Cat]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11503 ... tscenterFB" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Could get very interesting now.

[LongTimeCatFan]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11503 ... tscenterFB

Could get very interesting now.

And right out of the Obama play book.... "We have no knowledge of this."

[John K]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11503 ... tscenterFB

Could get very interesting now.

Wow!! If this report is true, then I might just change my mind about Goodell being able to hang onto his job.

[tdub]

Tough situation. The NFL should not have received a copy of the video by law. But someone sent it anyway - so what happens to this person that technically broke the law and released the information? Did the receiving person share it up the food chain? If so, what was that person told? Did it ever get to Goodell? This is a mess in itself.

On Ray Rice: I agree that what he did was horrific (although I refuse to watch the video). He and his now wife continued on in the relationship and are now married. They seemed (on the outside) to have moved past it, but will probably always continue to work through it. The justice system did what it thought was right, which no doubt included input from the victim and the offender. The police had this evidence then. So to me, in no way can his "sentence" be made any harsher. Seems like a double-jeopardy situation to me - even though a "prominent New Jersey lawmaker" is calling for it. So now does the NFL also get to re-administer a penalty? I know dealing with the NFL is not a legal issue, but a private company issue. I'm no supporter of what he did or am condoning it in any way, shape, or form. But does this video really change things? What if it is discovered that Goodell did in fact see the tape and then re-issued the punishment just because it became public. If I was Ray Rice, I'd sue the heck out of the NFL.

Hypothetical time - What if the EXCAT same incident happened, but the punch didn't knock her out and they walked out of the elevator - still very, very angry - but walked out nonetheless? Would people have the same outrage? If this had happened behind closed doors with no video, would there have been a suspension even though the same events occurred?

Long story short, I would not want to line up next to Ray Rice or want him on my team at this point. What he did was disgusting. But my point is this: Were the recent punishments that have been issued done out of trying to do what's right or is it nothing but a public relations move to lessen the fallout on the NFL now that this tape is public?

What a mess.

[TomCat88]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11503 ... tscenterFB

Could get very interesting now.

And right out of the Obama play book.... "We have no knowledge of this."

Which is just the opposite of the Bush playbook...."We have knowledge of this."

[LongTimeCatFan]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11503 ... tscenterFB

Could get very interesting now.

And right out of the Obama play book.... "We have no knowledge of this."

Which is just the opposite of the Bush playbook...."We have knowledge of this."

And in this case the WMD were Ray Ray's fists.

[TomCat88]

Goodell needs to go. He didn't try very hard to find this tape based on the fact that TMZ did. Unless TMZ has more resources than the NFL (it doesn't) then there's really no excuse. I see a law enforcement official is saying he gave the latest tape to the NFL. I'm not one to jump the gun so we'll see, but If true, it's a slam dunk.

That's more of an outsider take on it as I don't pay a lot of attention to NFL football.

[TomCat88]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11503 ... tscenterFB

Could get very interesting now.

And right out of the Obama play book.... "We have no knowledge of this."

Which is just the opposite of the Bush playbook...."We have knowledge of this."

And in this case the WMD were Ray Ray's fists.

Unless you ask Ray-Ray's wife. She wants to put flowers in them.

[91catAlum]

Tough situation. The NFL should not have received a copy of the video by law. But someone sent it anyway - so what happens to this person that technically broke the law and released the information? Did the receiving person share it up the food chain? If so, what was that person told? Did it ever get to Goodell? This is a mess in itself.

On Ray Rice: I agree that what he did was horrific (although I refuse to watch the video). He and his now wife continued on in the relationship and are now married. They seemed (on the outside) to have moved past it, but will probably always continue to work through it. The justice system did what it thought was right, which no doubt included input from the victim and the offender. The police had this evidence then. So to me, in no way can his "sentence" be made any harsher. Seems like a double-jeopardy situation to me - even though a "prominent New Jersey lawmaker" is calling for it. So now does the NFL also get to re-administer a penalty? I know dealing with the NFL is not a legal issue, but a private company issue. I'm no supporter of what he did or am condoning it in any way, shape, or form. But does this video really change things? What if it is discovered that Goodell did in fact see the tape and then re-issued the punishment just because it became public. If I was Ray Rice, I'd sue the heck out of the NFL.

Hypothetical time - What if the EXCAT same incident happened, but the punch didn't knock her out and they walked out of the elevator - still very, very angry - but walked out nonetheless? Would people have the same outrage? If this had happened behind closed doors with no video, would there have been a suspension even though the same events occurred?

Long story short, I would not want to line up next to Ray Rice or want him on my team at this point. What he did was disgusting. But my point is this: Were the recent punishments that have been issued done out of trying to do what's right or is it nothing but a public relations move to lessen the fallout on the NFL now that this tape is public?

What a mess.

Very well said. My feelings exactly, I was just talking about the double jeopardy aspect of this today. Everyone already knew what happened in the elevator, Rice admitted it all, took responsibility, and was punished albeit too lightly. Then, months later, the video comes out showing exactly what everybody already knew, and suddenly it's OK to add on to the punishment? This is just Goodell trying to save face.

[SonomaCat]

Very well said. My feelings exactly, I was just talking about the double jeopardy aspect of this today. Everyone already knew what happened in the elevator, Rice admitted it all, took responsibility, and was punished albeit too lightly. Then, months later, the video comes out showing exactly what everybody already knew, and suddenly it's OK to add on to the punishment? This is just Goodell trying to save face.

Yeah, this whole thing is strange ... how exactly did people think she got knocked out in the first place? I guess video makes the crimes seem more personal and emotional to a lot of people, but anyone in authority should have been able to realize how horrific the crime was even without the video.

[LTown Cat]

Very well said. My feelings exactly, I was just talking about the double jeopardy aspect of this today. Everyone already knew what happened in the elevator, Rice admitted it all, took responsibility, and was punished albeit too lightly. Then, months later, the video comes out showing exactly what everybody already knew, and suddenly it's OK to add on to the punishment? This is just Goodell trying to save face.

Yeah, this whole thing is strange ... how exactly did people think she got knocked out in the first place? I guess video makes the crimes seem more personal and emotional to a lot of people, but anyone in authority should have been able to realize how horrific the crime was even without the video.

I think the issue is that Rice lied to the NFL about exactly how violent it was. He said he pushed her away with an open hand and she hit her head. After seeing the video that is obviously not at all what happened. It's kind of splitting hairs but to me that is more how they can justify finally doing the right thing with him vs. just simply now seeing the video and using that as justification.