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| Janay Palmer and Ray Rice discussing assault case |
Many months after an incident that lead to a PR disaster for the NFL, Ray Rice has finally spoken out. For those who are unaware, Rice was caught on tape physically assaulting his wife in a hotel elevator. This lead his team, the Baltimore Ravens, to release him and he was eventually suspended indefinitely by the NFL. He went on to miss the entire 2014 season, even after he had been reinstated into the league in November. In Rice's statement he thanked the city of Baltimore for supporting him and apologized to the fans for his actions. He finally went on to say he hopes everyone can find a way to forgive him as he continues to move on and make an attempt to comeback to the NFL.
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| Tiger Woods and Michael Vick |
If you look in the past there have been many athletes whose reputations have been questioned based on poor decisions. Look no further than Tiger Woods and Michael Vick. Woods was once the golden boy of golf until he was caught having numerous affairs. This lead to an indefinite leave from the game. Since his return, he still receives a large following on the course. Now Vick on the other hand is a different story. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL but was found guilty of organizing a dog fighting ring and did time in prison. However, upon his release he would eventually be signed by the Philadelphia Eagles and all seemed to be forgotten.
Ray Rice's future in the NFL is something that will be in question until next season. Not only does he make poor choices off the field, but his performance on the field has diminished as well. Many people want him gone for good, but based on the past it should come as no surprise to see him play next year. Regardless of the outcome, I have lost a lot of respect for him.
I would not be surprised to see Rice play next year. However it would be nice to see teams in the NFL begin to view actions like this as unacceptable, and not allow players back. Ultimately it will take change at the top (commissioner Goodell) before real change occurs.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it won't be easy for Rice to recover fully from these events. I think the NFL handled the scandal pretty well. Considering the amount of money he probably makes playing for the Ravens, I'd rather not see him be able to play again.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely won't be easy for him to recover. The NFL has done a great job in handling this PR scandal just like Riley said, and I don't think they will let their reputation be hurt once more by allowing him to play. Considering they have made their point clear of being very against domestic abuse and doing all sorts of fundraising for this cause, it will be hypocritical and contradicting of them to let him play again.
ReplyDeleteI hope Rice gets professional help to address his domestic violence issues otherwise there may be a repeat performance in another relationship.
ReplyDeleteRice is totally going to be playing next year, I don't like it but he will. He is a good RB but an awful person. Same goes with Vick. These are only two of the (probably) hundreds of cases like this in professional sports over the years, and the only reason it looks like its getting worse is because people are going public more.
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