The Ray Rice Elevator Video

The NFL didn't think the punishment was light.

The day it was issued, Schefter's question was whether it was "lenient enough."

 

They matter more than you think. It's the public's desire to see football after so long and it's reflected in the Nielsen numbers.

Hey, I'm not saying by any means that people are going to stop watching football. Far from it. Like others have pointed out, however, if Goodell continues leading this league down the wrong path you have to wonder if it is ultimately reflected in the audience.

 

He has just the right toxic amount of ignorance and arrogance.
For someone who cut his teeth in public relations he has been as wanton in that regard as one can be.

 

"Right now, I feel very good about his side of the story, but I also feel very good about what he's done since that to help himself to not allow himself to get in a situation like that one again."

- Ozzie Newsome, 2/22/14

Serious question: Why are he and Harbaugh still employed?

Are either going to suffer even a minute consequence for their unfathomably insensitive comments in the immediate aftermath of this?

 

It's like the line that inevitably comes up in the baseball threads about Bud Selig: He's there to serve the owners. Like 3OF said, if we ever do get an 18-game schedule, that'll probably mean a six-month season for the teams that make it to the Super Bowl. I'm no doctor, nor have I been at a Holiday Inn recently, but I don't know if the human body can take that much hitting for six months. Again, putting cash ahead of science.

 

Berman and Dilfer, courtesy of SI's Doug Farrar:

Berman: "And the Ravens acted right away, didn't they, Trent? They had to!"

Dilfer: "Yeah, I talked to Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti this morning -- he woke up this morning, had seen the video for the first time, and went into the office. Met with his leadership and his management team, acted quickly and decisively, and really had no other choice but to release him from the organization."

Berman: "And look, it goes beyond quickly ... the Ravens didn't get any call from the league. It was very quickly done, but it's larger than just football and Baltimore."

Dilfer: "It really is. And in my role as head coach in Nike Grass Roots Football, I encounter over 1,000 of the very best high-school football players in the country every year. And every one of them dreams of playing on Sundays and Mondays. That's the ultimate goal. And I think the NFL did a great job of sending a very stern message, which is, 'Listen, it's more than being a great football player. You've gotta win off the field as well."

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/09/09/cardinals-comeback-win-chargers-monday-night-football

Go, positive and forthright role models!

 

"We've got a shitshow on our hands here. Get Dilfer on the phone!"

 

Fairly hollow for SI to be calling out ESPN right now, no?

Maybe Pete Thamel will have another feel-good girlfriend story coming down the pipe, though.

 

I think both have taken huge hits to their credibility.

But the thing is, with rare, rare exception, the coach and the GM support the star player. This should have been the rare exception, but sad as it is to say, their comments are consistent with what coaches and GMs usually say when a star player gets into trouble for something like this.

"(Player X) is going through a personal issues and he knows we're going to be here to support him and provide him with everything he needs as he works through it."

That's the stock answer. That doesn't excuse it, but that's how these guys were taught to answer questions about situations like this. Then they hide behind due process.

I think that's beginning to change. We heard what Jim Harbaugh said, and days later McDonald played against the Cowboys.

 

Won't someone please think about the dumb fucking meatheads who can't figure out on their own that beating the shit out of women is wrong?

 

What are the terms of "indefinitely"? When can he apply to play again?

 

I like "indefinite" over lifetime ban which from The NBA , you know won't
hold up.