The Ray Rice Elevator Video

Hate so many anonymous source but I suppose you need them to weave this story.

Harbaugh, though forced to toe the line, comes away looking much better.

 

Fuck that.

Football coaches are leaders of men. They're all big, strong, tough men.

He could have done what he thought was right. He chose not to. If he disagreed with the company line so strongly, he could have either ignored it, and gotten fired, or he could have resigned in disgust.

Instead, he stood up as the face of the franchise, and defended Rice.

And, heyabbott likely nailed it. Harbaugh comes across as a hero, because Harbaugh was likely a source, and got his side of the story -- true or not -- into the story.

 

This story wouldn't happen without the anonymity. Not a chance. Good job putting it together.

No question Harbaugh could have done the right thing if this story is accurate.

 

Tactically, ESPN lucked out having KVV in its stable at such a fortuitous time. His contacts were the driving force, and it's not hard to read between the lines to know Harbaugh was the mouthpiece.

I don't have a response for YF. How many among us would throw away that job? He'll be fired soon enough.

 

I don't know Xan. Harbaugh has one of the most sought after jobs in the world. I get why he wouldn't want to give it up, and I can see how he'd be worried about being blackballed if he crossed ownership.

And, even saying nothing might have been one thing. But, they pushed him front and center to be the face of this, and to defend Rice.

I think he could have declined to do that. Let Bisciotti, Cass or Newsome step up and defend the guy if they thought he was so deserving of support.

 

John Harbaugh would have had a year on TV followed by a megamillion-dollar deal from a team like the Cowboys. He would have been all right.

 

He took one for the team. That's a virtuous trait in the business world.

Giving KVV all of that material (if he did; I'm going on the assumption he did) was probably the first time he felt he could scrub away some of the guilt.

 

One part of the story I don't get:

And why did his multibillion-dollar corporation, with its vast national network of former FBI agents and law enforcement officials, flat-out fail in the most basic of investigatory tactics: to obtain the inside-elevator surveillance video, as Goodell has claimed. The public, league sponsors and media have been trying to make sense of the commissioner's motives during a league investigation unlike any other.

But they did get the video. The AP report with the law-enforcement source's email confirmed that. If that is now in question, I missed that update, but I don't think there is any legitimate question about it.

I still don't believe Goodell didn't see the tape. But it's possible. What is not possible is that the league office didn't see the tape.

 

Don't think he'd be blackballed ... he'd be respected for doing the right thing. Well, maybe. OK, we're talking about some pretty shady owners, so you might be right. I think he could have done the right thing without getting fired, or at least strongly stood up for the right thing. Maybe he did. But he sure looks ridiculous with the way he handled it.

 

I'm curious as to how the texts from Bisciotti to Rice were obtained.
There's nothing advantageous to the organization there- promising the guy a cushy job down the road, for fuk sake.

 

Either him or his agent, I suspect.

 

With all due respect to anyone here, but:

Fuck Harbaugh.

He dishonored himself with his comments that had us cringing here from day 1. You get so many chances in life to do the right thing. Here was his. He sold out instead. And he sold out Janay Palmer in the process. He wears those quotes now until the day he dies.

"Counseling and those type of things."

Fuck Harbaugh.