Ray Rice was released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Monday. (Rob Carr, Getty Images)
Ray Rice was released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Monday after a second video — of him punching his then fiancee in an Atlantic City casino elevator — surfaced from the incident earlier this year.
The episode has since caused a ripple effect in sports and beyond, leading even President Obama and members of Congress to comment on the issue. Here’s a roundup of the latest news and reports, which we’ll continue to update throughout the day.NFL never asked for video: According to TMZ Sports, which released the second video of the incident Monday, said that the league never contacted the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City about the video from inside the elevator.
Sources who worked at the casino at the time of the incident tell us … if the NFL had asked for the video, they would have gladly complied. Former employees have told us someone with an affiliation to the NFL saw the video, but we are now certain that someone was not from Goodell’s office or the core NFL executives.
Obama says Rice is not “a real man”: “The president is the father of two daughters, and like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society,” (White House Press Secretary Josh) Earnest said. “Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that’s true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something that’s bigger than football, and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it.”
Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland releases statement: “The video released this morning of this domestic assault was horrible, shocking, and reprehensible. Everyone can do more to help end the scourge of domestic violence.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal again weighs in: In the latest episode of the ESPN-ABC News podcast “,” Blumenthal, who led the charge in Congress calling for a harsher penalty when the Rice incident first surfaced, said he plans to meet with his Democratic and Republican colleagues to react to the fallout, which may include legislation on Capitol Hill.
“I am going to be talking to my colleagues while I’m here, literally, these next days and weeks, in trying to put together a more forceful initiative and more aggressive encouragement, whether it’s in legislation or some other way — so that the NFL and other major sports leagues address this problem more effectively,” Blumenthal said.
Ex-Raven Chris Johnson speaks out: In talking to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim, Johnson who was a friend of Rice and whose wife was a friend of Janay Rice, said on Monday: “I’d never seen that type of person that he is, that I had seen this morning. And to see that, (him) striking a woman like that, me personally, me losing my sister to domestic violence, I don’t have respect for a man who puts his hands on a woman. At all.”
SI unveils Rice cover: SI’s Phil Taylor wrote the cover story and said, “the suddenly and appropriately harsh justice underscored after Rice’s brutality, the other major problem with this saga: the NFL’s tendency to face problems head-on only after they’ve become threats to its carefully polished public relations machine.”
Why did Rice get off so easily?: “For The Win’s Nina Mandell raised the important question of why Rice didn’t face more severe legal penalties. Rice was required to attend counseling, which is essentially a slap on the wrist for someone many have argued should be in jail.
“Mr. Rice received the same treatment by the criminal justice system in Atlantic County that any first-time offender has, in similar circumstances,” Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Jay McKeen said in a statement to NJ Advance Media. “The decision was correct.”
Earlier this year, the prosecutor who tried the case said the office had viewed different videos of the incident. When asked by For The Win if they had reviewed the specific video that was posted to TMZ on Monday, McKeen declined to comment.
Nike done with Rice: Per ESPN’s Darren Rovell, the sports apparel company has decided to part ways with Rice.
Nike has terminated its endorsement contract with Ray Rice
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell)
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Rice removed from Madden NFL 15:
With Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension from the NFL, he will be removed from Madden NFL 15. The roster change will take place by this Friday.
— EA SPORTS Madden NFL (@EAMaddenNFL)
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Ravens can exchange Rice jerseys: Are you in Baltimore and don’t want that Ray Rice jersey anymore? Don’t burn it or donate it to Goodwill — the Ravens are giving you another option.
Pizza for Rice jerseys: Stephanie and Josh Hershkovitz, a brother-and-sister team that owns Hersh’s Pizza and Drinks in Federal Hill, decided to hand out free pizzas in exchange for Ray Rice jerseys after video of the ex-Baltimore Ravens Running back striking his wife went public. Their restaurant will take jerseys through Sunday, Stephanie Hershkovitz said.
