By — Margaret Myers Margaret Myers Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/ravens-ray-rice Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter UPDATE: NFL suspends Ray Rice after domestic abuse video surfaces Nation Sep 8, 2014 4:30 PM EDT Updated 4:30 p.m. EDT: Following the Ravens’ termination of Ray Rice’s contract, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello announced that league commissioner Roger Goodell had indefinitely suspended Rice based on the new video. Roger Goodell has announced that based on new video evidence that became available today he has indefinitely suspended Ray Rice. — Greg Aiello (@gregaiello) September 8, 2014 Updated 2:22 p.m. EDT: The Baltimore Ravens announced via Twitter that they have terminated running back Ray Rice’s contract. The #Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice's contract this afternoon. — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2014 Original story from 12:30 p.m. EDT Monday: On a day when NFL fans should be busy comparing their fantasy teams and stoking quarterback controversies, the discussion in the sports world is focused instead on the horrendous images of Ray Rice knocking his fiancé unconscious in an elevator. Early Monday morning TMZ released video of the Baltimore Ravens running back punching his fiancé, now wife, in the head and then dragging her unconscious body out of an Atlantic City hotel elevator. The image is a gruesome companion to the video that had been released in February, showing Rice dragging Janay Palmer out of the elevator and dropping her body onto the floor of the hotel hallway. Rice was arrested after the Feb. 15 altercation and later pleaded not guilty to a third-degree charge of aggravated assault. He avoided jail time by agreeing to participate in an anger management program. The NFL suspended Rice for two games, meaning he would have be eligible to participate with his team on Friday, a day after the Ravens play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. The outcry over the NFL’s mismanagement of the situation has been renewed. ESPN analyst and former NFL coach Herm Edwards said on “SportsCenter” this morning that as an organization, the Ravens should deactivate Rice. “What did you expect (the video) to look like?” he said, referring to the fact that the NFL had already seen the video of Rice pulling an unconscious Palmer out of the elevator. “It’s cut and dry with me; it’s black and white.” Former player London Fletcher admonished NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: https://twitter.com/LFletcher59/status/508950676119244800 Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that the NFL should ban Rice for life: Ray Rice should be banned by NFL for life & charged with battery by authorities. No excuse for what he did and should not be any 2nd chance. — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 8, 2014 Fans greeted Rice with cheers — and no reported boos — when he made his preseason debut back on Aug. 7. We’re asking: What do you think the NFL should do in response to these newly surfaced images? If you are an NFL fan and one of your favorite players had participated in this type of violence, how would you react? How would you want your organization or coach to react? Tell us in the comments below. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Margaret Myers Margaret Myers Margaret Myers is the former Digital News Editor for PBS NewsHour. She is a former editor for ESPN.com. She also led the features department at the Amarillo Globe-News in west Texas. @margaretvm
Updated 4:30 p.m. EDT: Following the Ravens’ termination of Ray Rice’s contract, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello announced that league commissioner Roger Goodell had indefinitely suspended Rice based on the new video. Roger Goodell has announced that based on new video evidence that became available today he has indefinitely suspended Ray Rice. — Greg Aiello (@gregaiello) September 8, 2014 Updated 2:22 p.m. EDT: The Baltimore Ravens announced via Twitter that they have terminated running back Ray Rice’s contract. The #Ravens have terminated RB Ray Rice's contract this afternoon. — Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2014 Original story from 12:30 p.m. EDT Monday: On a day when NFL fans should be busy comparing their fantasy teams and stoking quarterback controversies, the discussion in the sports world is focused instead on the horrendous images of Ray Rice knocking his fiancé unconscious in an elevator. Early Monday morning TMZ released video of the Baltimore Ravens running back punching his fiancé, now wife, in the head and then dragging her unconscious body out of an Atlantic City hotel elevator. The image is a gruesome companion to the video that had been released in February, showing Rice dragging Janay Palmer out of the elevator and dropping her body onto the floor of the hotel hallway. Rice was arrested after the Feb. 15 altercation and later pleaded not guilty to a third-degree charge of aggravated assault. He avoided jail time by agreeing to participate in an anger management program. The NFL suspended Rice for two games, meaning he would have be eligible to participate with his team on Friday, a day after the Ravens play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. The outcry over the NFL’s mismanagement of the situation has been renewed. ESPN analyst and former NFL coach Herm Edwards said on “SportsCenter” this morning that as an organization, the Ravens should deactivate Rice. “What did you expect (the video) to look like?” he said, referring to the fact that the NFL had already seen the video of Rice pulling an unconscious Palmer out of the elevator. “It’s cut and dry with me; it’s black and white.” Former player London Fletcher admonished NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: https://twitter.com/LFletcher59/status/508950676119244800 Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that the NFL should ban Rice for life: Ray Rice should be banned by NFL for life & charged with battery by authorities. No excuse for what he did and should not be any 2nd chance. — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 8, 2014 Fans greeted Rice with cheers — and no reported boos — when he made his preseason debut back on Aug. 7. We’re asking: What do you think the NFL should do in response to these newly surfaced images? If you are an NFL fan and one of your favorite players had participated in this type of violence, how would you react? How would you want your organization or coach to react? Tell us in the comments below. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now