Video killed the Ravens star.
Multiple media outlets reported on NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith appearing on ESPN and accusing the league's members of conspiring to keep former Baltimore running back Ray Rice from receiving a second chance.
"This, unfortunately, is a league that has a history of blackballing players. I find it hard to believe that a player of Mr. Rice's caliber hasn't at least gotten one offer from a team to come work out," Smith said, as reported by ProFootballTalk.nbcsports.com.
It's been more than 15 months since Rice and his wife - at the time his fiancée, Janay Palmer - both were arrested for assault at a now-out-of-business Atlantic City casino over Valentine's Day weekend in 2014. The incident turned into one of the hot topics in the NFL after video showed Rich punching and knocking out Palmer in an elevator.
NFL denies lying about what Ray Rice said in his June interview with league officials
After originally receiving a two-game suspension - negotiated in part with the league by Palmer - Rice was suspended indefinitely after TMZ Sports showed the elevator video.
Pro Football Talk showed little sympathy for Smith's argument and Rice's plight.
"The term 'blackballing' suggests something underhanded, but the reality is that NFL teams aren't hiding the fact that they simply don't want to do business with the man who last year became the poster boy for domestic violence in America. That's the prerogative of each team, and while the union is free to advocate on Rice's behalf, there's not much the union can do about it.
"If all 32 NFL teams have decided that they're never going to give Rice another chance, then Rice has only himself to blame for that."
Sports Illustrated conducted an interview with NFL executives on the condition of anonymity, and they were split on whether they thought Rice would get another chance in the league.
But now, Rice does have more of an argument in the form of two words:
Prince Shembo.
The Atlanta Falcons immediately released the 2014 rookie after he was charged for kicking his girlfriend's dog, causing its death. In the wake of that news, several outlets also reported that the Falcons drafted Shembo after a woman accused him of sexual assault while he was at Notre Dame, but she killed herself before police talked to him.
Without her to testify, Shembo never was charged. Critics will insist that Shembo never was charged, but in the end, charges also were dropped against Rice.
The difference is the video. There's no denying what Rice did.
If teams are willing to draft Prince Shembo, shouldn't Ray Rice get a second chance? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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