So now they are saying that the NFL had the Ray Rice tape since April of this year. This is my theory of how it all went down…
1.) The NFL and Roger Goodell did see both tapes
2.) The NFL interviewed both Ray Rice and Janay (or her lawyer). Janay and Ray coordinate to save Ray’s career.
3.) Janay, to save her financial butt, testifies that she played a key role – despite lack of evidence in the tape.
4.) The NFL sees that there is no prosecution of Ray by the legal system and really believes Janay is declaring her own culpability.
5.) The NFL sees that they will be getting ready to sanction the actions of Jim Irsay the owner of the Indianapolis Colts and would like to see a comparison that looks like they are being tougher on owners than they are on players.
6.) Historically, a 2 week penalty for the legal severity of Rice’s actions is not uncommon (historically there has been no video).
7.) Based on #3, #4, 5, and #6 the NFL issues the 2 week penalty for the Ray Rice domestic violence incident.
8.) The NFL (Roger Goodell) decides to cover up his knowledge of the tape because he doesn’t think he can survive the exposure of going over all the moving parts that went into his decision.
Goodell had no need to see the tape so don’t watch then he has deniability. 2 game suspension since there is some noise to look like your doing something and the fans will accept it
Tape no out there, well if public opinion dies down business as usual. If sponsers and fans start to walk away with there wallets, fire Goodell, and get the revenue stream flowing again.
I have a friend who’s head explodes when the -gate word is used. While we all know what it means, he keeps shouting about the origin of it and how ______-gate makes no sense.
Goodell had no need to see the tape so don’t watch then he has deniability. 2 game suspension since there is some noise to look like your doing something and the fans will accept it
Tape no out there, well if public opinion dies down business as usual. If sponsers and fans start to walk away with there wallets, fire Goodell, and get the revenue stream flowing again.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
This is pretty much it. The NFLPA is angry right now because the commissioners office hasn’t sent a letter explaining the details of Rice’s latest suspension, since there’s nothing in the CBA that allows the NFL to indefinitely suspend a player like this and it’s common practice for the NFL to send a letter within 24 hours of any suspension. It’s now been 48+.
Roger Goodell is an absolute trainwreck, always has been. He loves to talk about protecting the shield but he’s done more to harm the image of the NFL than anyone over the past 20 years. The direction he and the owners have taken this league should anger everyone who loves football. I’ve wanted him gone for years, hopefully this is the straw that breaks the ginger hammers back.
I still believe the NFL saw the tape and the “deal” with Rice was a 2 game suspension with the agreement that, if the tape went public, Rice was gone.
I am also starting to believe that Goodell did not actually see that tape. I think the NFL had the tape and watched the tape. I think the NFL told Goodell what was on the tape, but, told him not to watch it to give him plausible deniability.
I think the NFL crossed its fingers and hoped the tape would never come out.
I think the NFL had the tape and watched the tape. I think the NFL told Goodell what was on the tape, but, told him not to watch it to give him plausible deniability.
So how does a recording like this find it’s way to TMZ? Is there any responsibility for the casino to take this to police first?
The casino did take the tape to the police first. They turned over this tape the night of the incident when Rice was arrested. The casino had copies. The casino closed. One of the security guards sold it to TMZ. This was done after the plea was reached, so, there is no crime of interference with a police investigation.
My one question about the plausibility of Goodell doing something to protect Rice is that I don’t see him, or any other commissioner, risking their career to save a guy who hit is fiancée. As we’ve seen - the risk is too great if the video comes out.
Exactly, why would Goddell risk his career for an average running back? Rice has never been “the face of the NFL” so there was no reason to go lenient on him.
I think Goodell went light on Rice so the slap on the wrist he gave Irsay looked worse, like Goodell was holding an owner to a higher standard, and it blew up in the NFL’s face.
For everyone here talking about Roger Goodell not seeing the tape for reasons of “plausible deniability”, that argument seems very weak to me. You are assuming people in the NFL office have the same sensibility to the issue of domestic violence that they do now. No way. That’s what got them into this mess. They had no reason to try to protect Goodell like this because they had no idea Goodell was in danger from this.
My one question about the plausibility of Goodell doing something to protect Rice is that I don’t see him, or any other commissioner, risking their career to save a guy who hit is fiancée. As we’ve seen - the risk is too great if the video comes out.
You guys are all looking at this like our sensibilities to this issue have been the consistent throughout time. They have not been. The issue of domestic violence has blown up during this time. Goodell isn’t protecting Ray Rice. The Ray Rice sanction was business as usual, and I’m not even saying that in a sinister way. Goodell is protecting his decision making process and judgement which, with today’s sensibilities, will seem wholly inadequate for the situation.
There is no reason for Goodell to protect Ray Rice.
For everyone here talking about Roger Goodell not seeing the tape for reasons of “plausible deniability”, that argument seems very weak to me. You are assuming people in the NFL office have the same sensibility to the issue of domestic violence that they do now. No way. That’s what got them into this mess. They had no reason to try to protect Goodell like this because they had no idea Goodell was in danger from this.
I think you are wrong. This League did not become king of the sports landscape by accident. They are marketing geniuses. They knew how this video would play out. They wanted to provide cover for Goodell.
For everyone here talking about Roger Goodell not seeing the tape for reasons of “plausible deniability”, that argument seems very weak to me. You are assuming people in the NFL office have the same sensibility to the issue of domestic violence that they do now. No way. That’s what got them into this mess. They had no reason to try to protect Goodell like this because they had no idea Goodell was in danger from this.
I think you are wrong. This League did not become king of the sports landscape by accident. They are marketing geniuses. They knew how this video would play out. They wanted to provide cover for Goodell.
I think you are wrong. If they knew how this video was going to play out they would have thrown Ray Rice to dogs immediately. The NFL doesn’t give a tiny rat’s ass about Ray Rice. Providing cover to Goodell is a woefully second best plan.
Exactly, why would Goddell risk his career for an average running back? Rice has never been “the face of the NFL” so there was no reason to go lenient on him.
This is the most pertinent question. . . .Roger does not seem so stupid that he would risk everything for Ray Rice, leading me to believe he did not see it.
I think you are wrong. If they knew how this video was going to play out they would have thrown Ray Rice to dogs immediately. The NFL doesn’t give a tiny rat’s ass about Ray Rice. Providing cover to Goodell is a woefully second best plan.
I think they actually thought the tape would not get out. I do not think they were protecting Ray Rice. I think they were only concerned about The Shield.
This is the most pertinent question. . . .Roger does not seem so stupid that he would risk everything for Ray Rice, leading me to believe he did not see it.
Goodell would never risk his career for Rice, and this had nothing to do with the Irsay case as others have opined. Goodell felt this was business as usual and drastically underestimated the backlash the original video would bring about. People in his office likely saw the second video, perhaps Goodell himself, but at the end of the day they decided to treat this the way they’ve treated others and in the process completely miscalculated how powerful a viral video can be. The release of the second video was the backbreaker.
domestic violence is not uncommon in the NFL. Having video evidence of it is, and the visual (a violent left hook, followed by Rice dragging the woman out of an elevator like a sack of potatoes) made it that much worse. Complete miscalculation on the part of the NFL, hopefully it costs Goodell his job because he sucks in general, and in this case he’s been a bungling fool.
Exactly, why would Goddell risk his career for an average running back? Rice has never been “the face of the NFL” so there was no reason to go lenient on him.
This is the most pertinent question. . . .Roger does not seem so stupid that he would risk everything for Ray Rice, leading me to believe he did not see it.
Just to be clear, I am claiming that Roger is risking everything because of his fear of exposure over decisions he has already made. The Ray Rice sanction was business as usual. That decision wasn’t contrary to previous NFL domestic violence sanctions. It’s just that now, the environment has changed. You can’t say “Yes, I saw the tape, but I also looked at past sanctions, and I looked at Janay’s interview statements, and I looked at Ray’s contrition, and I looked at the lack of prosecution over the case, and I looked at…” All that was good enough (and frankly apropos) at the time, but not good enough now. That is why he lied.
My one question about the plausibility of Goodell doing something to protect Rice is that I don’t see him, or any other commissioner, risking their career to save a guy who hit is fiancée. As we’ve seen - the risk is too great if the video comes out.
Maybe the issue isn’t about Goodell getting “caught” looking like he is protecting Ray Rice. Maybe the issue is how many times has Goodell not be caught sweeping domestic violence issues under the rug. My suspicion is the problem is completely out of control and I mean COMPLETELY out of control. The other question is whether the NFL attracts violent criminals or is creating them or making them worse. So it isn’t so much Goodell is trying to protect Rice as much as the protocol was we have to try to keep ALL of these issues quiet because frankly there are simply too many. I think there are about 1500 active NFL players or so, want to guess how many have instances of DV on their rap sheet? Take a look at Brandon Marshall, who by all accounts is a “rehabilitated man” and taken Chicago by storm. He has about 20 instances of police interactions in the last 10 years ranging from theft, to DUI, to beating up his wife. Most of the time the charges were dropped. I believe he has missed exactly 1 game due to suspension. The investigation needs to go deeper than Ray Rice.