https://www.breakingnews.com/topic/ray-rice-domestic-violence-incident/BALTIMORE RAVENS
10m
The Baltimore Ravens terminate their contact with Ray Rice, who is charged with aggravated assault - @Ravens
see original on twitter.com
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-new-video-released-of-ray-rice-incident-20140908,0,1244291.story
Ravens release Ray Rice after new video surfaces
Baltimore Sun Staff
2:28 p.m. EDT, September 8, 2014
The Ravens have terminated the contract of running back Ray Rice after a new video surfaced Monday morning showing Rice hitting then-fiancee Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February.
The video appears to show that after each hit the other in a Revel casino elevator, Rice threw a punch with his left fist, knocking Palmer off her feet and into a railing. A previously released video showed the aftermath, with Rice dragging his now-wife out of the elevator.
The release of the new video by TMZ Sports comes less than 24 hours after the Ravens lost 23-16 to the Cincinnati Bengals with Rice serving the first game of a two-game suspension, and 10 days after the NFL announced more severe punishment for domestic violence.
An NFL spokesman said league officials had not seen the video from inside the elevator until Monday.
"We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator," league spokesman Greg Aiello said. "That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today."
In announcing the new domestic violence penalties on Aug. 28 after public backlash to Rice's two-game suspension, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a letter to all 32 NFL owners that he "didn't get it right" when he handed down Rice's punishment in July. The new penalties include six games for a first offense and a potential lifetime ban for a second offense.
"My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment, and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families. I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values. I didn't get it right," Goodell wrote.
Rice, 27, was charged with felony aggravated assault in the case, but in May he was accepted into a pretrial intervention program that allowed him to avoid jail time and could lead to the charge being eliminated from his record.
The Revel casino where the incident took place closed Sept. 2.
Selected by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 draft out of Rutgers, Rice rushed for 6,180 yards and 37 touchdowns, and caught 369 balls for 3,034 yards and six touchdowns over six NFL seasons.
The release of the video also comes as the Ravens prepare to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in a nationally televised game Thursday night at M&T Bank Stadium.
Rice is the Ravens’ all-time leader in total yards from scrimmage (9,214) and he ranks first in the NFL in that category dating back to the 2009 season. He also is the first player in franchise history to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons and he ranks second in franchise history behind Jamal Lewis in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
State Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Democrat who represents parts of Baltimore, announced on Twitter Monday morning that he made a donation to the House of Ruth in the amount of the price he paid for his Ray Rice jersey several years ago.
Ferguson said he gave $75 to the nonprofit, which serves battered women and children, after watching the video. He said he was inspired, in part, to take action for his daughter, born just 7 weeks ago.
He said he wanted to make the donation as a way of “transitioning the ugliness into productive action.” Ferguson said he wishes he had asked more questions about the situation in the past, instead of depending on the NFL to evaluate the situation.
“I just felt bad about the whole situation,” Ferguson said. “Seeing the video today was pretty horrific. It was swept under the rug with the two game suspension, and seeing [the violence] so clear and present, made me feel guilty about the whole situation and withholding judgment in the past.”
His tweet inspired at least one other person to donate to the House of Ruth.
Marty Conway, a former vice president of marketing with the Orioles who teaches sports management at Georgetown University, said the NFL has a big job ahead to satisfy the concerns the video will raise in the minds of fans.
“It’s definitely not behind them,” Conway said. “The larger issue is the credibility of the league in these types of investigations.”
Conway also noted the timing of TMZ’s posting of the second video. Its release at the start of the NFL season was intended to have an impact, he said. If it had been released two weeks ago, it would have drawn less attention, he said.
And had the public been more satisfied by the way the league addressed the Rice situation, Conway said it’s less likely the second video would have ever been seen publicly.
Still, Conway said, the damage to the league will be minimal.
“We’re still going to have record ratings,” Conway said.
Baltimore Sun reporter Yvonne Wenger contributed to this report.
