TMZ Sports has released the complete and disturbing video that shows Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee in the face in an Atlantic City hotel in February. This is the first time we have seen footage of Rice actually hitting Janay Rice (then Palmer), and while I won’t link it here because abuse, of any kind, sickens me, I’m sure Google can help you out. There are conflicting reports of whether or not the NFL and Roger Goodell had access to this “extended” cut when deciding the length of Rice’s suspension, because I’m sure at this point, the league would rather just look completely stupid than heartless, but, at least in my eyes, it looks like they’re going to come out as both. Nailed it!
There are two main aspects to this that affect fantasy, with the first one being– Will his suspension be changed? Well, after watching the footage, it doesn’t appear that he smokes any weed, so he should be fine. And while I would hope that Rice’s suspension would be extended by the NFL, I have very little faith for that to occur. Or didn’t you guess? And for those that try to push the “we don’t know what was said, or what she did before the video” line, I really could care less. There isn’t any more context required to understand why Ray Rice delivered a Sugar Ray Robinson special.
That being said, in a brighter bit of news, and the second aspect related to fantasy, is now there are rumblings that Ray Rice might actually be released.
“Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel has been “texting with team officials around the NFL,” and the belief around the league is that the Ravens will release Ray Rice.”
I’m not sure I actually believe that, as cutting Rice would put them way over the cap. The NFL could give an exception in this case, and technically should, but they didn’t with Aaron Hernandez, nor did they give an exemption to the Washington Football Team when Sean Taylor was murdered. Of course, asking the NFL to have consistency is kind of a LOL thing to do anyways.
As for your fantasy roster, I would suggest cutting ties and moving on. I should note though, I say this not owning or drafting him anywhere. I don’t care if you drafted him or not, but I certainly want nothing to do with him. And remember, Benard Pierce is terrible at football, so Justin Forsett is your add.
Update: Welp, that was quick. The Ravens have terminated Ray Rice’s contract. I would applaud it more if I didn’t think it was just a PR move from a team that staunchly defended him through all of this. But while they should have done this earlier, it is a step forward, however small step it is.
