Goodell: When did you first learn about this 2nd tape? Yesterday morning. I got into the office and our staff had come to me and said there is new evidence/video you need to see. I watched it then. Did you know a 2nd tape existed? We had not seen any video tape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed there was a video. We asked for video but we were never granted that opportunity. Did anyone in the NFL see this 2nd video before Monday? No. No one in the NFL? No one in the NFL to my knowledge, no. How is it the NFL could not get their hands on the 2nd tape but a website called TMZ could? I'm not sure how TMZ or any website gets their info. We're reliant on law enforcement. That's most reliable & credible. We don't seek to get info from sources that are not credible. Did the NFL drop the ball or willfully ignorant? We didn't know what was on the tape. We have been very open and honest. 2 weeks ago I acknowledged we didn't get this right. That's my responsibility and I'm accountable for that. What changed? On the first tape, she was unconscious and being dragged out. Did you really need to see another tape of Ray Rice punching her? No, we certainly didn't. The first tape was troubling. What we saw yesterday was extremely clear and graphic and sickening and that's why we took the action we took. What does suspended indefinitely mean? Does that mean Ray Rice will never play in the NFL again? I don't rule that out but he would have to make sure we are fully confident he is addressing this issue clearly. I asked him if he(Goodell) feels his job is on the line. He said "No, I'm used to the criticism, I'm used to that. Every day I have to earn my stripes."
I normally try to only comment on basketball related issues on this forum, and probably should stick to that. Nevertheless, I'm going to stick my 2 cents in here even though it may make some people hate me. I haven't read all of this thread, so this may have already been said by someone else. I apologize for repeating if so, but I have to say it anyway. What Ray Rice did was bad, very bad. Why? Because she is a woman, was his fiance' at the time, and maybe he could have chosen a better option. BUT...let's look at the actual evidence and not just emotions or stereotypical media and public sentiment. THIS WAS AN ACT OF SELF DEFENSE. Still bad, very bad, but nevertheless an act of self defense. Anyone watching that video with an eye for justice instead of their own bias can clearly see that she hits him before they enter the elevator, after they enter the elevator and as he tries to push her arms away and backs away from her, she continues to attack him with the intent to hit him again. Watch her arms as she comes forward. Also, this man did not BEAT this woman. He HIT her one time in the face. That is NOT a BEATiING. Yes he is powerful, very powerful as a professional athelete. But, although I don't know his or her exact height, it is not like he is 6'4" and she is 5'1". When they walked into the press conference, albeit she may have had on heels, she was taller than him. In the elevator she has on either no shoes or flats, and he is barely taller than she is. So while he may weight more, it's not like she is COMPLETELY NO THREAT TO HIM AT ALL. What if he had scratched his eyes and caused him to never be able to see properly again and therefore not be able to play football again? What if she had hit him in the throat and possibly accidentally killed him? From looking at the video over and over again, I can not come to the conclusion that his intent was to KNOCK HER OUT. It appears that he sideways hit her just once AND HER HEAD HIT THE ELEVATOR AND RAIL thus knocking her out. In my personal opinion from viewing the video, I don't think that punch alone knocked her out. IF you watch the video carefully, he head snaps back very hard after hitting the rail in the elevator. I am NOT trying to justify him hitting her, no matter how this sounds. He could have chosen to try to hold her off like JayZ did in the elevator with Solange, especially since this was his fiance and he supposedly and probably actually loves her. But at the same time, ANY HUMAN BEING has the right to defend themselves when being attacked. This is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT that all human being should have regardless of sex, race, religion, nationality or anything else. The fact that she is a woman should not remove HIS RIGHT to defend himself if she chooses to attack him first, as is clearly shown in the video. Look at it this way, if this was a gay couple, two men, and both were the same size as those two with one being larger than the other which is normal; would there be such an outcry and charge of domestic abuse with one man hitting the other in self defense even though he has more power than the other? If you answer other than NO, you are not being honest, or are very naive. Yes, as men, we should do our very best not to ever hit women. I know this as I was raised around all women without a father, have more daughters than sons, and would never hit a woman myself....unless in true SELF DEFENSE. But women also can't claim to want EQUAL rights and then attack a man and then other women call it domestic violence when a man defends himself. That is hypocritical and unrighteous. There are MANY CASES of domestic abuse where actual WOMEN beat their husbands on a regular basis, so acting like ANYTIME a man hits a woman is domestic abuse, actually takes away from the true crime and focus of what domestic abuse really is. From their testimony, whether true or not, they have repeatedly said that this was a one time event. That makes this a FIGHT, NOT DOMESTIC ABUSE. A fight in which the one who was aggressive happened to be smaller and ended up getting knocked out. As someone else has said, we pay to watch people knock out each other in boxing all the time, so it's a bit disingeniuous to put the entire weight of the incident on the fact that she got knocked out. If he would have just slapped her, I'm sure the outrage would be there, just not as much if she didn't actually get knocked out. And I'm not trying to sugar coat his actions. I found it worse how he acted AFTER he knocked her out. I was shocked to see that he didn't show remorse, try to revive her, hug her, say I'm sorry, kiss her, and even worse, at least lay her down SOFTLY as he dragged her out of the elevator. All that says to me that either he doesn't truly love her, was in shock over his actions himself, or that was intoxicated or possibly on something at the time. That was the worst part for me, how he handled it after the fact. That being said, I can't try him myself with domestic abuse when they both say that it was a one time thing, the courts obviously must have come to similar conclusions to let him off with such a light sentence, and ultimately, SHE DID ATTACK HIM AND THEREBY PROVOKE the attack by causing him to have to defend himself. All of this happened in a couple of minutes and matter of seconds where people sometimes make the right or wrong decisions. The way the media is making this out to be the most horrible crime in the century is sickening and I wish I could curse out on air all of the commentators on CNN and ESPN. They are not even presenting both sides of the case or what others views are online representing how they feel about the situation, in which many feel the same way as I do. The media has their own agenda to present one side and brainwash the majority of the ignorant masses to follow their position because of their lack of attention to detail. They do this on many issues and it worries me where this country is actually going long term in the future. That said, I think the NFL made the right decision in the first place with the two game suspension, and also I can't argue with this latest decision because ultimately from a business perspective, they have to cater to public perception in order to have a viable business. The fault lies with the LYING MEDIA that has their own agendas. The call for Goodell to step down because of this is ridiculous. I apologize in advance for those that I offended with my opinions and interpretations, but it is a FREE COUNTRY. I also apologize for writing such a long comment, but I had to get it out.
Nope. If a kid hits you can you hit him back and claim self defense? the answer is no. Self defense requires the self defender to actually be in some kind of danger which he obviously isn't. You will never convince anyone that a pro football player is in danger of being beat up by his 100 pound wife. Ever heard of the knockout game kids are playing these days? It has killed people.
You should have followed your own advice in the first sentence and ended it there. Because, yes, you are trying to sugar-coat his actions, you are blaming the media for this rather than the act itself, you are implying that there's another side to this story that would justify him hitting her and knocking her out, if you did a modicum of research, you'd know that you can't take an abused woman's word that this was only a one-time thing, and your lame attempt at justifying this by using your sisters/daughters as an excuse for your views, not to mention the "there are husbands abused by their wives" bit- that's just my opinion in our free country.
Here's the most color blind poster on this site... examples are to be made. Examples need to be made of Ray Rice. I'm sorry it pains you that he's black and the white sir is tryna keep him down but he did what we thought he did. It wasn't a one time thing. The wife sticks up for him cuz she's a groupie and has no self respect - she'll go through it again if it means the millions keep coming in. And he needs to be put down like the coward that he is.
What about when someone makes the wrong decision in a few seconds and stabs someone? Do they deserve this second guessing because it happened "in a couple of minutes and matter of seconds"? Along with the other things others above me called out.. just wanted to add one
Im done with this story. The NFL nor Goodell is taking responsibility, only saying 'we werent able to get the video' which we all know is BS. The whole thing is outrageous, start to finish Im assuming nothing will be done anymore, NFL is hoping ppl will forget about it tomorrow. The owners arent speaking up either, seemingly backing up Goddell. Like I said the whole thing makes me want to vomit.
What do you think about the pathetic actions of Rice ' s wife? That is far worse than what the NFL is doing. They are probably used to it. Instead of being a role model for victims of abuse the women is playing into the hands of it. $$$ talks
If you are comparing a kid to a woman, then that is an insult to women. Just because women are considered by "you" to be the "weaker" sex, doesn't mean that they are equivalent to kids. Traven Martin was a "kid" and his stalker claimed self defense and killed him with a gun. His wife weighs much more than 100 pounds although I don't know exactly how much. Take a look at her height and her arms and butt size when they are walking into their initial press conference...and even in the elevator. To say that a woman hitting a man poses no threat to him physically is just wrong. No I haven't. But again, I think the elevator rail knocked her out, not his actual punch.
And yours is just your opinion. You disputed none of the "facts" that I presented in my reasoning to come to my opinion. I put the blame where the video puts it. An attack once, twice and the third attempt a hit to a woman that was subsequently knocked out by the elevator rail and his lack of remorse shown in the incident. Self defense, but still a very bad action for a man to take according to society, but I think any individual has a right to protect themselves from potential harm. Can you say with certainty that she could not ever hurt him? Have you ever seen any men that were hit by women? It appears that a real court came to similar conclusions also. If you don't believe that there are men who are abused by their wives, just ask any cop on the street. That is a fact, not an opinion. Of course the majority of domestic abuse occurs to women. But to say it doesn't happen to men also is a lack of knowledge. Until it is proved that it happened more than once, which you can get some evidence from by asking friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. if you are a prosecuting attorney, there is not reason to believe that some couple can't actually get into their FIRST fight in a Vegas casino after a lot of alcohol.
What is the circumstances surrounding the incident first? Were they in a fight? Did they know each other? How does this hypothetical question relate to what actually happened? There were a specific series of facts regarding this one particular incident that I based my conclusions on. Every incident is different and should be judged on the relevant facts, not preconceived ideas.
If someone or anyone has a logical fact based rebuttal of my opinion comment, I will be happy to discuss it. If you are just dug into your position about what you believe is domestic abuse, then so be it. No need to comment on my points of view if you won't actually address them in an informational way without getting insulted or emotional.
You point to the fact that she's tall...or has a big butt...or whatever, in order to show that she isnt helpless or that she isnt weak. But what youre failing to see is that she is dealing with an NFL football player, a world class athlete, and someone that can bench press her 500 times before his pulse increases. Rice was absolutely at fault here and there is nothing that she did in the videos that remotely called for Rice to throw a punch.
I am making a point that there must be danger to ones well being to implement self defense. now she doesn't. ray rice can bench twice her weight easy. when u knock somebody off their feet they hit something such as the ground or a railing.
She hit him 2 times, 1 in the face, and tried to hit him as he backed away again for the 3rd time. She could have scratched his eyes out possibly if she wanted to. I don't know what her intentions were before she got knocked out. I don't like the fact that he punched her, I probably would have tried to subdue her in some other manner. He didn't have anyone in the elevator as JayZ did to help try to stop her. To me, he didn't hit her as hard as he could have. He didn't draw back and hit her with all his might as you would see a man hit another man. I think the hit itself would not have knocked her out if her head would not have hit the elevator wall and rail. That's just my opinion from watching the video multiple times. Nevertheless, women can not be given a free pass to hit men as much as they want because men are bigger and stronger, therefore if a man hits a woman back, he has committed a crime and she did nothing to provoke it. Domestic abuse is completely different from this. Men who beat women in real domestic abuse cases do so while not being attacked physically themselves and do so because they are more powerful than their woman. If a woman hits a man with a stick and he blocks it with one arm and punches her with the other, is that also domestic abuse? You may say this is not the same, but she is capable of injuring him with her hands, fists, nails, etc. even if she is smaller than he is.
