The Dark Side of Sports, Part II

Photo uncredited

Wow, it's been crazy today.

Ozzie Newsome took the advice of my open note at the end of that post (...fine, he caved to collective peer pressure) and released Ray Rice. About an hour later, the NFL indefinitely suspended him.

Most of these issues I tackled in the above post, but to recap: the Ravens did the right thing... finally. The NFL also did the right thing... finally. Rice has no recourse with the Ravens, but the NFL Players Association will fight the NFL's decision. It's a second suspension for the same offense. I doubt it stands up. They may go for a middle ground; my coworker thinks that the suspension will ultimately be six games to equal the new system. If he can be reinstated at any point, I would hope NFL general managers realize they will be inviting heavy condemnation if they sign him. If he pays some sort of debt to society and truly repents, I'd be open to him returning, same as Michael Vick. But that isn't happening anytime soon.

Photo by Gene J. Puskar (AP)

Meanwhile, the NCAA decided that this afternoon would be the perfect time to pull a fast one and reinstate Penn State.

Honestly, I'm not sure what the rationale is behind this. What's clear is that the timing is terrible. They knew it would be a controversial decision, and saw a perfect smokescreen with Ray Rice. Fortunately, most of us are smart enough to see through that.

I'm just not sure where to cast my opinion on the decision itself. When the punishment first came down, I was wholeheartedly in support of it. But I need more information. Has the school fully taken steps to turn the corner from a dark part of its history?

@northsider89 time heals all wounds....go back and see how from top to bottom they hid the rape of boys. You'll remember .
— Imperial Intern (@Imperial_Intern) September 8, 2014

Penn State supporters argue that the penalty was unfairly punishing athletes who had nothing to do with what happened. But as much as I dislike the system, bowl games are a privilege, not a right. Officials high up sure seemed like they covered up heinous crimes to protect their football program, and their supposedly sainted head coach was in the middle of it all. The NCAA punished a program that placed football as a higher priority than lives, something I've repeatedly condemned.

So what's the rationale for lifting it now? Has the school done enough to try to atone for the damage caused? I don't have enough information to be the judge of that. Even so, I'm skeptical of this decision, especially given when it was announced. Because of that skepticism, I'm keeping Penn State ineligible for the Death to the BCS Playoffs unless there's enough out there to justify the decision.

The events of today are a great reminder to us all. Sports are great. They can bring people together in ways a lot of other things can't. But sometimes we get too engrossed in sport, and let it blind us to the things that really matter. Temper yourselves, and be careful not to fall into the trap.

The Dark Side of Sports

If you're a regular reader of COAS, or if you know me personally, you know I love sports. It's almost to a fault. I love playing them, watching them, writing about them... it's a big list. It's one of those things that definitely has its flaws and corruptions, but for many of us, we put it on the back burner and deal with it. Sometimes, we see things so heinous that tie to sports, that we are forced to confront the issue head on.

Photo from Getty Images

You've no doubt heard the story by now. Ravens running back Ray Rice made headlines back in February when video was leaked showing him dragging his then-fiancee out of an elevator in Atlantic City. He was charged with aggravated assault, but avoided trial by joining an intervention program. Inexplicably, Roger Goodell decided that two games was a long enough suspension for his misdeeds. If that wasn't enough, prior to the suspenion at a press conference, his now wife apologized for her role in what happened in Atlantic City.

Now today, furor has re-exploded thanks to TMZ releasing the video of what happened on the way into the elevator, but more importantly... in the elevator. Apparently, according to an official NFL statement, no one in the league saw this video until now. Fair warning: this video is pretty disturbing. Click on that link at your own risk.

Union talking about damb HGH when Ray Rice is playing football... Please. Get y'all priorities together...
— LeCharles Bentley (@LeCharlesBent65) September 8, 2014

2 games. Disturbing.
— TJ Lang (@TJLang70) September 8, 2014

2 games? I'm disgusted. This is not the example we want to leave for our youth.
— Garrett Gilkey (@gagilk73) September 8, 2014

Photo by Kenneth K. Lam (MCT)

I'm with the majority opinion that the 2-game suspension was way too light for the crime, and even Goodell thought that when he revamped the conduct policy to punish domestic violence cases more harshly. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like them to, the NFL can't go back and add games to the suspension. That becomes an ex post facto punishment, which is illegal. Yes, I know the NFL is not the court system, but the players' association would make that ex post facto argument, so the league knows better.

I was listening to Mike and Mike on my drive to the train station this morning, and they were talking about the release of this video. They agreed with the notion above, and suggested a Herm Edwards approach: make Ray Rice inactive. I'd love to see that. But will John Harbaugh do it?

Unfortunately, in the highest level of sports, integrity and character don't seem to matter all that much. If a guy can play, teams will take him, and use him. It's only when the bottom line or public image take a hit that anything gets done. And even then, a lot of times on field production will trump doing what's right.

I've been a married man for about two and a half months now. My wife and I have been together for five and a half years now. I would never even consider putting my hands on her, much less doing to her what Ray Rice did to Janay Rice. It's cowardly and disgusting. Ray Rice should be facing prison time for what he did. Instead, he has one more week before he can play football again.

For now, the NFL's hands are probably tied. But when he comes out of the tunnel in Cleveland (and let's be honest: he will, even though he shouldn't), I'm sure a lot of Browns fans will boo him. Heavily. And they should; he deserves it. But Ravens fans should do something to. Refuse to wear, or get rid of any Rice jerseys you have. Refuse to buy anything with his name or likeness on it, or if you want to go further, boycott stores that sell any of those items.

Photo uncredited

People probably already do that with Michael Vick because of his dogfighting past, but I don't want to see false equivalencies with that. Vick paid his debt to society and repented. He now seems to be an advocate against dogfighting, and as long as that remains true, he deserves the second chance he's gotten and has made the most of. If it comes to light that he went back to dogfighting, he deserves banishment from the league and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Ray Rice is different; he's not facing jail time now. He hasn't paid a debt to society in any form. And besides, Vick was let go by the Falcons after he was arrested. Rice, despite all the evidence, remains employed by the Ravens.

My last words are an open message to Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome. Do you want a man who had no problem spitting on, then punching his now wife, knocking her out, on your team? Do you want that man representing you and your organization not only on the field, but in the community? Do the right thing.