NFLPA’s DeMaurice Smith calls Ray Rice video ‘jarring, disturbing’
By Phil Watson
The National Football League Players Association was late to the table on the day the video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice assaulting his then-fiancee at an Atlantic City hotel was released.
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NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told SI.com that he will meet with the league before making a decision on how to proceed after Rice was released by the Ravens and indefinitely suspended by the NFL on Monday,
"“Yes, the video is disturbing,” Smith said. “As a father, as a husband—when you see something like that, it’s jarring. It’s disturbing. For our union and for our players, it’s one of those things where you at least try to look at something positive. And that is the reminder how unacceptable any kind of violence, especially domestic violence, should be.“It has no place in our lives and certainly in our community. And that’s where we are right now.”"
Smith said he was on a plane when the video was released early Monday morning and didn’t see it until after he landed. Later, he learned Rice had been released and suspended.
"“I did hear [about the suspension], but I tend to rely on the commissioner and learning all the facts first-hand,” Smith said. “That’s what we’ll do and once we know what those facts are, that will dictate our next steps.”"
It’s hard to imagine the union contesting the release or the suspension, given the strong reaction to the video, but unions have been known to take stances before that were unpopular with the public.