After apparently doing him a big favor, the NFL didn't do Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice any favors on Monday.
Janay Palmer to blame for Roger Goodell's leniency toward her husband Ray Rice
Maybe Ray Rice can return the favor.
CBSSports.com reported that the NFL appointed NFL senior vice president of labor policy Adolpho Birch to conduct an interview with ESPN's Mike and Mike on Monday morning to talk about the two-game suspension handed down to Rice for his involvement in a physical altercation with his then-fiancée Janay Palmer at an Atlantic City casino in February.
If the NFL was hoping Birch's interview would quiet the outrage from fans and media over the perceived leniency toward Rice - who by all accounts was a role model in the league prior to the very ugly incident that went public through a video TMZ Sports obtained - for the domestic violence incident, it had the opposite effect. It added fuel to the outrage.
Mike Greenburg told Birch that the show had heard from "thousands of people this morning who are saying the National Football League had an opportunity to send a message that domestic violence will not be tolerated in our league and failed to do so in the Ray Rice case; what is the league's reaction?"
Birch's response: "Listen, I think if you are any player and you think that based on this decision that it's OK to go out and commit that kind of conduct, I think that is something that I would suggest to you that no player is going to go out and do that," Birch said. "So in terms of sending a message about what the league stands for, we've done that. We can talk about the degree of discipline; we can talk about whether or not third parties need to be involved. I would suggest to you that a third party has been involved in this matter and that was the court that reviewed it, the prosecutor that reviewed it."
Yet, Birch refused to say how the league decided that the two games were appropriate. He refused to comment whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had any more evidence presented - particularly video evidence - that was not made public that influenced his decision.
Birch said the NFL based the penalty on outcomes of prior cases that were similar in the league, as well as other leagues but refused to say which cases they were.
Birch simply toted the company line that the punishment was fair, according to the information it had and the resources on which the NFL relied.
"On balance, we reviewed all the materials, listened to the persons we listened to, took the input of the Players Association," Birch said. "When we looked on balance at all of that, we believe that discipline we issued is appropriate. It is multiple games and hundreds of thousands of dollars. I think that's fair to say that doesn't reflect that you condone the behavior. I think we can put that to rest."
The remark was particularly jaw-dropping in light of the fact that both Greenburg and Mike Golic had talked about how the NFL's decision did anything but put to rest its stance on domestic violence.
More mystifying was the NFL's agreement to have one of its officials comment on the matter when the league had no intention of going into any details on how it arrived at what the vast majority of the country perceives as a slap on the wrist for a major offense.
Sports Illustrated's Monday Morning Quarterback reported that Palmer gave an impassioned speech to Goodell for leniency on her husband that may have had an impact on his decision.
"She urged Goodell, (a) source said, to not ruin Rice's image and career with his sanctions," the report said.
She, too, was initially arrested for her part in the physical altercation and later apologized for her role.
But the perceived minor punishment against her husband has kept the story in the spotlight and is having the opposite effect.
Goodell needs to put an end to this matter quickly by explaining whether he has more evidence or what exactly led the NFL to the decision it made. He now owes it to Ray and Janay Rice as much as he owes it to the general public because he is now involved in preventing the couple from getting past a dark chapter in their lives, and that's not fair to them.
Ironically, Rice himself may have a better chance of quelling the outrage. According to the Baltimore Sun, he is scheduled to speak to reporters at training camp.
He already is losing $529,411 for the two-game suspension, but would he dare offer to self-impose additional games? He could announce that he's donating an additional two games pay to go to some organization that helps victims of domestic violence.
That could be the ultimate irony if Rice were to do something like that; it would show that he understands the seriousness of his mistake and then leaves the NFL with the reputation for indifference about domestic violence.
Rice wouldn't be doing the NFL any favors, but that precedent already has been established.
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