I'm not completely surprised that Ray Rice ended up winning his appeal. The NFL's case for extending the suspension indefinitely was always kind of weak. Basically, Roger Goodell was trying to save his own ass after realizing how badly he screwed up the first time. He used the video as "new evidence" and his excuse to do what he should've initially, but it wasn't new evidence. It was evidence he just didn't bother to look at until months later.
This is yet another black mark on the resume of Mr. Brilliant Commissioner. First there was Bountygate, where former commissioner Paul Tagliabue had to come in and clean up the mess that Goodell created, overturning the suspensions of the Saints players that I still think were justified. Then he completely bungles the Rice situation. So badly that fan and sponsor outrage forces him to admit he was wrong. Goodell saw the second video as a second chance to do the right thing, but, as Judge Barbara Jones ruled, he went against the CBA and abused his own power by suspending Rice again for the same offense. Another very public swing and a miss by the commissioner.
Judge Jones didn't say that she thought the indefinite suspension wasn't warranted. If Goodell had ruled correctly the first time, she would've been hard-pressed to find a reason to overturn it. But he didn't. And that was the problem. She had no choice. Jones didn't say Rice was right. She was saying Goodell was wrong.
What Ray Rice did was inexcusable. We all know that. Even he knows that. Janay Rice knows that, too, no matter how many times she tries to justify what her husband did to her or how many reasons she gives for forgiving him. Whether or not she's in denial about this whole thing is a whole different discussion, and it's not a relevant one here.
The thing that is relevant is that Ray Rice is no longer suspended. He's free to sign with any NFL team, and you've got to think he will. I highly doubt it'll be this season, but there are plenty of teams that are going to need a running back. Who do you think the first person they're going to call will be? (For example, knowing Ray Rice is available could make the Vikings' decision on what to do with Adrian Peterson a lot easier.)
As soon as the second video came out, Rice was immediately released by the Ravens. He's also got a grievance out against the team, but I think the likelihood of Rice winning that one is a lot less. Employers are free to do whatever they want with their employees. If the Ravens felt justified in their reason for terminating him, Rice really doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. It's, of course, because of the video that Baltimore decided to cut ties with Rice, but they weren't in breach of contract and it wasn't wrongful termination. I'm not really sure what other argument he'd be able to make as a means of forcing the Ravens to take him back, which is something they clearly have no interest in.
In fact, it's probably better for Ray Rice to move on from the Ravens. Now that it's been decided he's eligible to return, he can do his best to put this behind him (how possible that will be for everyone else is a much bigger question) and begin a new chapter with somebody else. Of course, that also requires there being a team out there willing to take on the risk and everything else that comes with signing Ray Rice.
And let's not kid ourselves. There is a team out there that will take that risk. It probably won't and shouldn't be this season. But I have no doubt Ray Rice hasn't played his final NFL game. He'll be back in 2015. In a weird way, Roger Goodell made sure of that.
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