Before the Baltimore Ravens took action against Ray Rice’s left jab that knocked out his fiancée, before the NFL reacted to the unearthed video footage of the violence displayed in a casino elevator, the team and the league took their cue from Broncos defensive tackle Terrance Knighton.
“That man should be thrown out of the NFL and thrown into jail,” Knighton tweeted at 8:51 Monday morning. “Shame on those deciding his punishment.”
A couple of hours later, the Ravens announced they had terminated Rice’s contract. A few minutes after the Ravens’ announcement, the NFL said Rice, who not long ago was considered one of the league’s top running backs, has been suspended indefinitely.
“My personal thing is there’s no place for it in our league or really in our society,” Broncos coach John Fox said at his news conference Monday afternoon.
Knighton, the oldest of four brothers in his family, was believed to be the first NFL player to set the tone on Rice.
“I felt strongly about the situation and domestic violence overall,” Knighton said Monday afternoon in front of his locker. “I spoke on it, I gave my opinion and I think the league handled it the right way.”
Fox and Broncos director of player development Jerry Butler addressed the Rice incident and the league’s new domestic violence policy during a team meeting Monday.
“We’ve talked about it before,” Fox said. “There’s a whole list of do’s and don’ts in our league, and that’s always been one. But it’s been highlighted here of late, and the penalty has stiffened.”
The NFL was under siege after it issued Rice a two-game suspension for his domestic violence incident with the woman who is now his wife, Janay Rice, at an Atlantic City casino on Feb. 15. At the time, surveillance video showed Rice dragging his unconscious fiancée outside an elevator. Footage made public Monday revealed Rice’s punch that knocked out his fiancée.
“The NFL should have zero tolerance for domestic violence,” Broncos cornerback Chris Harris stated via Twitter. “There is never a reason for any man to be violent toward any woman.”
Perhaps more disturbing than the league’s initial light punishment against Rice — which commissioner Roger Goodell later publicly regretted — was that a New Jersey district attorney did not prosecute Rice.
Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or
