If Ray Rice was a normal person like the rest of us, he might be out of a job by now. That sure seems like appropriate punishment for someone who beats his wife.
And that’s exactly what it appears Rice did. With new and incredibly disturbing video surfacing Monday morning, we now have a much better idea of what happened inside that Atlantic City casino elevator in February. It’s pretty clear that Rice punched his then-fiancée, Janay Palmer, in the face.
There will be ongoing debate as to whether the NFL should add to Rice’s two-game suspension. Before it even gets to that, though, shouldn’t the Baltimore Ravens do something about it all? Like, other than continue to make a mess out of everything?
It certainly feels like they need to do more.
Ever since this story came out, the Ravens have handled themselves in a questionable way. They’ve yet to discipline Rice for his actions. But there are other things, too. How about that bizarre social media debacle during Rice and Palmer’s joint news conference back in May?
Then there was Kevin Byrne, the Ravens’ senior vice president of public and community relations, writing a column on the team’s website defending Rice as a person. Byrne wrote in his column titled “I Like Ray Rice” how he “wanted to write about Ray Rice and how much respect I have for him,” while also calling the running back a “good guy.”
That was in July.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh also called Rice a “heck of a guy” who made a “mistake.”
That’s not only a gross understatement given the newest video, but it’s also kind of icky, for lack of a better term.
The Ravens, like the NFL, could plead ignorance. They could say, like the NFL, that Monday was the first time they saw the new video. That might be true. But according to CBS Sports reporter Jason La Canfora, the Ravens had to have known something more.
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That seems like information both Harbaugh and maybe even Byrne could have stumbled across at some point. It’s also information that should have driven the Ravens to actually do something about Rice.
It’s late, but it’s not too late. The Ravens have a responsibility to do something about Rice. They have to treat him like he’s an employee and put aside for a moment that he’s good at running around, in between and through large men while carrying a football. They should send the message that this type of behavior won’t be accepted or supported.
Harbaugh probably should take a page out of brother Jim’s playbook after the San Francisco 49ers head coach said he’d release a player found guilty of domestic violence.
Maybe Baltimore doesn’t need to release Rice, but there needs to be supplemental discipline, and it already should have happened. It’s not too late, especially after that horrifiying video has been made public. Ray Rice’s football talent, now more than ever, is a moot point. It’s time for the Ravens, for the first time in this entire saga, to do the right thing.
