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jj82284 · 09-08-2014, 07:02 PM

First of all, let me say that I am in no way defending what Ray Rice did. What he did was unexcusable and has no place in our society.

Had this been the initial reaction from the league then I wouldn't have had much to say about it. He hit his fiance.

But Now I have several problems with this process and the way it was handled by the league and the Ravens organization, and those problems hang on one question: Did Ray Rice Lie?

Seems simple enough. The reason I ask that is because as bad as this video is, i didn't learn anything that I didn't already knew. He committed the despicable act of hitting his wife. But he did it then, this mornings release of the video of that event wasn't in REALITY a second offense but in practice its being treated as such!

And if he didn't lie to the league or the teams, then the decision that Rodger Godell made was based on the fact that Ray Rice had never been in trouble before, never had an incident like this with his then fiance and oh by the way the woman in said video pledged in front of God and country that she accepts him as he is as testament to his charecter and to my knowledge has stood by him through this entire process stating that the 4 minute video only represents 4 minutes of Ray Rice's life and not a systemic pattern of abusive behavior.

So now congratulations to the righteously indignant who have compromised the financial future of the victim and her family in an effort to make themselves feel better. This isn't about justice and i will challenge any person who uses that word in this discussion. This was about REVENGE and coming up with a punishment that we all felt good about, not creating the best environment for the correction of said behavior and healing for the rice family. there is a reason for pre trial intervention for first time offenders and there was a reason that Godell was willing to work with this couple based on the fact that his now wife attested to his charecter. I am not advocating or excusing domestic violence. I am advocating with every breath in my body the fact that all human beings are flawed, we all make mistakes, and we should all be given second chances in the face of real contrition.

And think about the cliff that we are on right now. What if the girl accusing Jaemis Winston writes a tell all book with graphic detail. Are we going to let twitter and TMZ dictate whether or not he should be banned from entry into the NFL. Since we are now in the market for retroactive fiat banishment from professional sport what about Greg hardy. Should he be released and suspended indefinately. What about chad Johnson. No charges were filed against Ray lewis and he was suspected of KILLING SOMEONE! Should twitter block his entrance into the hall of fame. Lawrence Taylor was a drug addict, lets drag his bust out of there. Kobe Bryant was accused of rape. I could go on and on and on. Eventually you get to the point that you decide GEE men who work to hard can develop ulcers, we need to send a message so let's rename the @#$% trophy.

If this was a pattern then that's fine. IF this happened again GOD BLESS have at him. But Rodger Godell just violated HIS OWN POLICY just based on PR. I could see an extension to 6 games but this is how we treated Aaron hernandez and he was a serial murderer!