The Baltimore Ravens terminated Ray Rice’s contract on Monday. Roger Goodell then indefinitely banned Rice from the NFL. So when — if ever — could Ray Rice return to the NFL?
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Rice’s departure from the NFL is a product of the series of videos that have emerged. The most recent video shows him striking his then-fiance, current-wife. The video is gruesome and disgusting and it led to a waterfall of criticism on the internet via social media and news. Hopefully that pressure had nothing to do with the Ravens and Goodell’s punishments. Hopefully, they made those decisions on their own.
Rice's career might be over. Who's going to sign him and take the PR hit?
— Jean-Jacques Taylor (@JJT_Journalist) September 8, 2014
Rice’s ban is indefinite. Comparably, other players have had indefinite bans in their careers that were lifted. Not comparably, Rice beat up another human being and one who couldn’t defend herself against him. He sucker punched a woman in an elevator — simply put.
As a result, it’s unlikely that Ray Rice ever plays another snap and NFL analysts around the league agree.
Ravens had no choice but to terminate Ray Rice's contract. Will be a long time, if ever, before another team signs him.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2014
Rice is vulnerable to a legal action and could go to jail with so much clear evidence. If guilty of aggravated assault, he could spend three to five years in prison.
Even if he continues unscathed by the law, Rice’s reputation as a person is shattered. The Ravens long stood by him, but the video speaks for itself. In many ways, signing him would make an NFL franchise susceptible to criticism that they endorse domestic abuse — and that criticism would be warranted. They’d be hiring a former domestic abuser.
Rice is also a running back. They’re a dime a dozen. He may be exceptional, but his final season with the Ravens was his worst. Unlike the case of a exceptional quarterback like Michael Vick, Rice’s position isn’t valued at a premium. Teams might suffer the bad PR for a quarterback that can win games, but the likely won’t do so for a running back. They’d much sooner draft one in the second to fifth rounds of the NFL draft — but all of that is extremely left of point that Ray Rice beat up his wife and doesn’t deserve to play football for a very, very long time.