Roger Goodell does not rule out Ray Rice reinstatement
Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been suspended indefinitely by the league after a new video on TMZ surfaced, and this video showed chilling footage of what went down in that elevator. The video was graphic, and the conduct by Rice abhorrent in every sense of the word. His suspension is well-deserved, and his release from the Ravens a completely obvious move. He apparently mislead teammates into thinking that his actions weren’t as severe, and I’m sure the lack of footage of the assault left some ambiguity. But any of that was erased by the cold hard facts provided by the footage, and the league rectified its initial error when it suspended Rice for just two games.
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Rice will probably never play a down of football again, because once he can realistically apply for reinstatement, he might be too old to even do anything in this league. Plus, his reputation is forever stained because of this incident, and I don’t understand why anyone would want to hire him.
That said, the NFL Network’s Albert Breer tweets that commissioner Roger Goodell stated that he isn’t willing to rule out the chances of Rice returning to NFL action one day. He said, “I don’t rule that out, but we would have to be fully confident he is addressing this issue.”
Most people are skeptical that Rice will ever give people “full confidence” that he understands what happened and is willing to move on, but people can change. Goodell’s response is the diplomatic one, and it’s the only one he could have legitimately given. It’s unlikely for Rice to return to the league, but it’s entirely possible. He’s in the “prime” of his career athletically at 27, but he showed little wiggle in an awful 2013 season and, from a pure football perspective, might not have enough to give to a team anyway if he is reinstated at some point. The NFL isn’t going to say that “indefinitely” means “forever”, because that would set a dangerous precedent, even if most people would be in favor of Rice never being allowed back in.