Ravens fans give Ray Rice standing ovation during practice

[SidDithers]

Baltimore Ravens fans gave running back Ray Rice a standing ovation as he jogged onto the field during training camp practice on Monday, according to the team's website.

Rice acknowledged the cheering fans by pointing to the crowd.

Rice was seen on video in February dragging his then-fiancée out of an Atlantic City casino elevator. He was charged with third-degree aggravated assault after Janay Palmer, whom he later married, was left unconscious following the incident. Rice agreed to enter into a diversion program to avoid a jail sentence.

The NFL suspended Rice for two games without pay due to the incident, sparking debate as to whether the punishment was too lenient.

http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/07/29/baltimore-ravens-fans-ray-rice-standing-ovation


The NFL is one fucked-up place. Smoke a spliff, you get a 4 game suspension. Beat your fiance unconscious, you get 2 games and a standing ovation from your fans.



Sid

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. some sports "experts" maintain that Mike Vick was

treated badly by the NFL.

[zappaman]

2. Unfuckingreal.

[SidDithers]

5. Eric Stangel tweeted "Breaking: NFL suspends OJ Simpson for 3 games"...

which I thought captured the absurdity of the light suspension perfectly.

Sid

[SoCalMusicLover]

3. People Cheered O.J. On Too

And all he did was slaughter two innocents.

People are MORONS.

[arcane1]

4. "whom he later married"? Damn, I wasn't aware of that detail.

Nothing I can do but sigh

[jamzrockz]

10. The back story

is that the fiance spit on him first before he hit her. Not saying that it is ever right to hit a woman. But spitting is considered to be assault under the law and what he did can be considered self defense if she spat on him first. That I guess is the reason why he is not facing any jail time.

[Jenoch]

11. He's not facing jail time because they got married and spouses

cannot be forced to testify in court against each other. The video is not enough evidence to convict Rice so the case was dropped.

[jamzrockz]

14. But in most places

The courts do not need testimony or even permission from the spouse(victim) to start prosecution. He did get into some pretrial intervention and that is how he avoided jail time.

[Jenoch]

22. Yes, he did get into a diversion program,

but that was also because the prosecutors had a weak case. The video alone would not have been enough for a conviction (dpending n the charges).

[Punkingal]

20. I would rather be spit on than beaten unconscious.

Although neither is desirable.

[jamzrockz]

21. I bet his intention

wasn't to knock her unconscious.

[awoke_in_2003]

25. Then what was his intention...

just to get her attention a bit? I don't give a rat's ass what his intention was, he hit a woman.

[BillZBubb]

6. It is amazing how easily people lose their moral compass when a "hero" or their favorite country

commit crimes. Those fans remind me of the people cheering on Israel as it slaughters Palestinians.

[randys1]

7. All the more reason for me to NEVER watch another game as long as I live.

Understand those republican men cheering him on hate Women, and I mean they hate Women...

pretty much all cons do and some dems even

[KamaAina]

8. Excuse me while I

I can't believe we lost a Super Bowl to those morans!

[CBGLuthier]

9. Bunch of overgrown steroid cases running around with more armor than a soldier

Can not stand the sport. Look forward to its eventual forced demise when kids will no longer play because of the insurance costs due to the concussions and occasional death.

We got a freshman recruit at OU who punched a woman in the mouth last Friday and he has not been arrested yet. he broke her nose, they got it on tape and they have not arrested him yet.

Fuck sports culture.

[joeybee12]

12. Hey, the Ravens made a murderer their captain...

They probably think Ray's wife should be the one in prison.

[Jenoch]

13. This is the same team who's star player was involved in the death of a person

and will probably be voted into the NFL HOF in five short years.

[SunSeeker]

15. Depressing story, Sid.

[Initech]

16. Ok so Michael Sam is considered a "distraction" from NFL owners..

Yet these people aren't:

Ben Rothlisberger: accused rapist
Ray Rice: accused wife beater
Plaxico Burress: accused of possessing illegal weapons and literally shot himself in the foot
Richie Incognito: accused locker room bully
Aaron Hernandez: accused double murderer
Donte Stallworth: Accused DUI manslaughter suspect
Michael Vick: Convicted animal abuser
Bill Belicheck: accused cheater

But nope Michael Sam is.

[alp227]

17. The DUI manslaughter suspect...

Did you mean Josh Brent or Donte Stallworth?

[Initech]

18. There's more than one?

[Jamaal510]

19. This is a little OT, but

being a Raider fan hearing about the Ray Rice incident, I think it's messed up that even though there are all these other teams like the Ravens and the 49ers that have criminals on their teams, some ignorant fans of other teams still single out the Raiders and create the impression that they're the one criminal-friendly football team.

[SidDithers]

23. The soon-to-be San Antonio Raiders?...nt

Sid

[Jamaal510]

24. I think Mark Davis

might be bluffing. San Antonio has frequently been used as just a bargaining chip in the past for teams that want their cities to give them better stadium deals. And even though the news is that he's considering moving the team to SA, the Bay Area's market is much larger, so it would be more lucrative for the Raiders to stay here. A majority of the NFL owners would also need to approve the move first.

[Inkfreak]

26. Did any of them even watch him last year?

They can't be applauding his skills. I'm assuming Raven fans are pro wife beating.

[Major Hogwash]

27. There's additional extenuating circumstances in this particular case, however, Sid.

She wasn't wearing a helmet at the time!
So, it was judged differently, and Rice was given a red card, and 5 minutes in the penalty box!

Plus, she went ahead and married him, so the penalty phase will continue, and will likely extend for much longer than the NFL's 2 week suspension.
I'm jus' saying . . . you can't fault the NFL for him marrying someone like that.

Oh sure, he can be suspended, but if it is only for 2 games, it doesn't really mean more than a quick trip to Bahama for the Rices for a longer than average weekend stay over.

I am sure this will be discussed on "The View", but I gave up thinking the NFL was an organization that could be held up to scrutiny a long time ago, back in the 80s, when drug use was rampant and some teams started actively recruiting players that were felons to be traded in order for them to play for their team.