Ray Rice let go by Ravens

[Spotcheck Billy]

Fun fact: Bob Marley was half white. His dad was a British guy who was a land surveyor in Jamaica

^  That is wrong, British guy?? I thought they were to be referred to as chaps not guys  

[ChicosBailBonds]

Fun fact: Bob Marley was half white. His dad was a British guy who was a land surveyor in Jamaica

So it would only be half racist then if you went blackface with Bob Marley costume....awesome.   I'm Jammed, hope you're Jammin, too....

[jesmu84]

http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/story?storyId=11832947

Goodell denying it to the end. Good end not changing his story, I guess.

[brandx]

http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/story?storyId=11832947

Goodell denying it to the end. Good end not changing his story, I guess.

Wow! Wonder who's lying. Goodell or ALL of the sources. I'm sure Mueller will nail Goodell in his report.

[forgetful]

Interesting case.  It appears by all accounts that Rice told Goddell exactly what happened and was punished according to what actually occurred.

For what ever insane reason Goddell apparently never thought the actual tape would go public, when it did he had to try to cover his ass. 

Now he's in a jam.  He is in the wrong for punishing Rice twice for the same violation.  Rice, legally, should be reinstated.

So what to do with Goddell then, he has shamed the league, apparently lied under oath.  He needs to go.

[GGGG]

I don't understand the marginal benefit that the owners think they get from Goddell.  There are a lot of smart guys who can do the job that he has done IMO.  He has too many built up loyalties among influential owners however, and let's face it, even if they are forced to reinstate Rice, there isn't going to be a substantive backlash.

[MU82]

Wow! Wonder who's lying. Goodell or ALL of the sources. I'm sure Mueller will nail Goodell in his report.

It is impossible to respect Goodell, and I'm 99.9999% sure he is a liar.

Why would Ozzie Newsome lie? Unlike Goodell, he has nothing to gain from lying.

Goodell has humiliated himself and his supporters.

[reinko]

It is impossible to respect Goodell, and I'm 99.9999% sure he is a liar.

Why would Ozzie Newsome lie? Unlike Goodell, he has nothing to gain from lying.

Goodell has humiliated himself and his supporters.

Dude,  just wait.   We still have the super duper secret evidence that is not public yet.

[Benny B]

Dude,  just wait.   We still have the super duper secret evidence that is not public yet.

Thanks, Hoopaloop.

[jesmu84]

hmm

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/12009808/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-testimony-ray-rice-hearing

[brandx]

hmm

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/12009808/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-testimony-ray-rice-hearing

You're just a hater - chicos assured us that Roger is a good man and would never lie. I'm not gonna let the "media" fool me into thinking different.

PS - if warriorchick reads this - it is just sarcasm 

[MU B2002]

You're just a hater - chicos assured us that Roger is a good man and would never lie. I'm not gonna let the "media" fool me into thinking different.

PS - if warriorchick reads this - it is just sarcasm 

He can't possibly be a good man based on his waste of perfectly good pizza.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/12/10/7368439/roger-goodell-nfl-conduct-policy-ray-rice-case

[reinko]

Our friend Drew Magary.  Bold is the actual WSJ article.

Hey, you're Roger Goodell. You're an isolated, wealthy, powermad executive who will do anything to protect his authority and the sacred #BRAND to which he has been entrusted. Who do you go to to help give your pretty boy a thorough polishing for the American public? If you guessed the Wall Street Journal, congrats! You just won a two-week subscription to The Wall Street Journal (Retail price: $590). Yes, Goodell is rolling out his new and improved Personal Conduct Policy (now with 40% more stern letters!) and the WSJ headline "NFL's Roger Goodell Seeks to Right Past Wrongs" is all you need to know that this will be less of a thorough investigation than a red-carpet rollout for the NFL's chief job creator (and taker-awayer):

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell reserved a private dining room for breakfast at the exclusive Core club in Manhattan last month and invited one of the few people who might help with his problem.

Hey, what better way to say that you're in touch with your average American citizen than to reserve an entire room at a posh city club that virtually no one can afford to attend? Oh, but it gets better!

He figured the boss of 36,000 armed officers would know how to handle accusations of domestic violence in the ranks.

Yup, it's Roger Goodell again consulting with another dude about what to do about battered women. But it gets even better than that!

"Do you pull them off the job immediately? Do you impose your own code of conduct? Do you pay them during the investigation? Do you run your own investigation rather than wait for the criminal-justice system?" Mr. Goodell pressed William Bratton, the New York City police commissioner, over coffee and eggs. Mr. Goodell's deputies scribbled the answers, all yes.

I feel like maybe now is NOT the time to take self-discipline within the New York Police Department as a given, you know? I wouldn't say they are a model of restraint these days. Killing an unarmed dude? Fine. Oh but hit your wife and they really turn the screws down, I bet. And I love the added touch of Goodell having stenographers on hand to do all the listening for him. What we have here is a summit between two delusional men, reinforcing their own delusions and calling that LEARNING. And the WSJ is buying this crap!

Mr. Goodell, after months of criticism, plans to unveil a tougher personal-conduct policy at a meeting Wednesday with NFL team owners that is akin to the police-department model.

First offense: You are choked to death.

An accused player, for example, will immediately go on paid leave following formal charges or an independent investigation under the proposal that would also apply to all NFL personnel, including owners.

NOOOOOOOOOOO! No, this is the exact WRONG thing. The completely unnatural carnal knowledgeing arbitrary system you have right now is better than this. What is this? This is complete crap. No one wanted you to have MORE power.

"I blew it," Mr. Goodell told The Wall Street Journal in a series of interviews over a period of weeks this fall as the commissioner was caught flat-footed in the unfolding controversy. "Our penalties didn't fit the crimes."

No, that is not how you blew it. Everyone railed against the Ray Rice suspension because Goodell overpunished everyone else and then underpunished Rice. But now, because of that one example of underpunishment, Goodell is gonna double overpunish everyone, even people who may not have done anything. This is still Goodell's mentality: that the general public wants him to round up all these players and give them a good public spanking. It's the exact wrong direction. Imagine burning dinner fifty times in a row, and when people tell you to turn down the oven, you say, "You know what? I've messed up. I'm gonna turn this oven UP next time!" That's Goodell. He's unnatural carnal knowledgeing deaf.

Mr. Goodell said he wanted to be judged by changes made by the league in response to the Rice case and others. "I'm not trying to run away from this problem, which is a societal problem," he said. "But people hold the NFL to a high standard."

No they don't! We really don't. We expect you to be craven crapbags. Please don't try to be good. Somehow, that ends up making you more evil.

The 55-year-old Mr. Goodell, who first sent letters to the NFL about a job while a teenager, has a high profile among football fans.

You could say that.

He is often stopped for fist bumps and photos, and has his own bobblehead doll.

What the unnatural carnal knowledge?

He started at the NFL as an intern in 1982 and became commissioner in 2006. A year later, he ordered that players be held accountable for "conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in" the NFL.

He's not Batman. Are you aware that he is not Batman? Stop talking about him like he is Batman. We gotta clean up these streets.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a Goodell supporter, asked him directly: Did you see that [Ray Rice] tape? "Roger looked me in the eye and said, ‘No,' " Mr. Kraft said. "I believe him."

SO WHAT?! Goodell is paid to protect Kraft. What did you think Kraft was gonna say? "Hey, that toady that works for me and covers up all of the League's more unseemly ambitions? I believe him. He has GRIT." What a shock that he would stand by his guy like that.

Late into the night on Sept. 10, executives in the NFL conference room brainstormed over ways to prove the commissioner wasn't covering up for Mr. Rice. Pizzas arrived but no slice was taken until Mr. Goodell ate. He never did, and the slices turned cold in the box.

This is unnatural carnal knowledgeing insane. Even Peter King isn't this blindly sycophantic. First of all, if there's pizza there, I want to eat it. My pretty boy boss isn't stopping me. If you order pizza for everyone and then instruct them to not eat it until you've eaten it, and then you never eat it, you are a psychopath. But the WSJ treats this as some kind of monument to determination. Let that cold pizza stand as a reminder that Roger Goodell will not rest until every last woman on Earth is saved.

NFL General Counsel Jeffrey Pash suggested an independent investigation run by former Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller. "Call him now," Mr. Goodell said, despite the late hour.

WHAT A MAN.

As Mr. Goodell reviewed the cases with advisers, he jumped to take calls at his desk.

Jumped! Didn't just sit there and pick up the phone. No, he LEAPT at the phone. Flew toward it, like a superhero. Didn't even touch his pizza before answering.

During one, he told his twin 13-year-old daughters he wouldn't be home for dinner.

GTFO

He also took calls from owners and player representatives begging for leniency.

"Am I not merciful?!" This is so gross.

"Let me be clear," Mr. Goodell barked to one caller, "we're taking him off the field."

I assume he slapped a PR-24 into his hand while doing this. Please, Mr. Commish! Ya gotta let my boy play! Let 'em off the hook just this one time! LET YOUR REMARKABLE FORTITUDE SLIP FOR JUST AN INSTANT, SIR! Why not give him the papacy as well?

Around that time, a friend, General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jeff Immelt, told Mr. Goodell to "stop and apologize now," Mr. Immelt said. "This is fast- moving and deeply felt."

Oh hey, one pretty boy CEO congratulating another? Well, I'm sold.

As Mr. Goodell prepared for a public apology, he spoke first to his daughters, who were hearing about the controversy at school. In his family room with his wife, he explained "the whole issue" of domestic violence and "how we didn't keep our policy up to speed and we need to fix that." He told his daughters that "part of this is acknowledging your error and part of it is what you are going to do to make it right."

Good job, Dad. But when do they get ponies?

Mr. Goodell sought input from 11 former players. At a three-hour meeting on Sept. 23, former Chicago Bears star Mike Singletary slapped his hand on the NFL shield in the middle of Mr. Goodell's conference table and said: "This means excellence. If a player isn't living up to that standard, he shouldn't be part of the NFL brand."

Mike Singletary once mooned his own players in order to motivate them. So even if this story is true (I don't believe a word of it.... Gonna need verification from someone who is more sane than Mike Singletary), it means nothing. This is just another shining example of the NFL buying into its own made-up belief that it is the White Knight of America. It's a football league. Please just be a football league.

Mr. Goodell next flew to Austin, Texas, to see firsthand the National Domestic Violence Hotline. He had announced on Sept. 19 that the NFL would begin giving the group $5 million annually for five years. With the permission of one caller, Mr. Goodell listened: The woman said she was thrown down stairs while holding her toddler. She hung up after she said her husband was back.

At the hotel restaurant later, the commissioner, still shaken, ordered a glass of wine. Then he changed his mind. "I need a stiff drink," he said.

Are they coming out with a graphic novel of this? I feel like that's the next step. The graphic novel comes out, and then they make it into a movie penned by Aaron Sorkin. That drink scene... that's right up Sorkin's alley. "Gonna need scotch after hanging with staircase lady, Bob." (In Sorkin stuff, the guy always knows the name of the bartender.)

National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver and Mr. Goodell compared notes over lunch at 21 Club in Manhattan. "You can learn from what we're going through," Mr. Goodell told him. A few weeks later, Mr. Silver, noting the "evolving social consensus" on domestic violence, issued a 24-game suspension of the Charlotte Hornets' Jeff Taylor, the league's harshest penalty yet for domestic violence. Mr. Taylor pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic-violence assault involving his then-girlfriend.

Oh, so that was all Goodell's idea! Nice job, Rog! Why don't we make you commish of everything?! You can have lunch at every fancy club with every CEO and create a personal conduct policy for all American civilians as well. There will not be a warning system. We'll jail everyone.

Mr. Goodell has also turned stricter.

NO!

Before a recent Cowboys-Giants game, the NFL commissioner strode the sidelines at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he got unsolicited advice from the stands. "Bring back Ray Rice," yelled one fan. Another countered: "Stick to your guns!"

"That's what I love about football," Mr. Goodell said. "It brings out passion."

This is the worst thing I've ever read. How could you edit this and not die laughing?

[warriorchick]

Love, love, love Drew Magary.  Only writer that I know will make me laugh out loud whenever I read him.

Not just about sports, either.  His Hater's Guide to the Williams Sonoma catalog has become an annual holiday classic.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/the-2014-haters-guide-to-the-williams-sonoma-catalog-1667452305

[MU B2002]

Love, love, love Drew Magary.  Only writer that I know will make me laugh out loud whenever I read him.

Not just about sports, either.  His Hater's Guide to the Williams Sonoma catalog has become an annual holiday classic.

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/the-2014-haters-guide-to-the-williams-sonoma-catalog-1667452305

That is amazing.

[ChicosBailBonds]

As predicted....no evidence to support the NFL saw the video rules former head of the FBI, Mueller

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12138032/nfl-did-not-previously-see-ray-rice-elevator-video-according-mueller-report


Doesn't let them off the hook on other stuff, as the report also states.



Now, I have no doubt that there will be people that will say not possible, they're covering up, they're lying, etc.  Impossible to please those people so it is what it is.

[jesmu84]

As predicted....no evidence to support the NFL saw the video rules former head of the FBI, Mueller

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12138032/nfl-did-not-previously-see-ray-rice-elevator-video-according-mueller-report


Doesn't let them off the hook on other stuff, as the report also states.



Now, I have no doubt that there will be people that will say not possible, they're covering up, they're lying, etc.  Impossible to please those people so it is what it is.

A long time ago I predicted that the NFL's own internal investigation, run by a guy with lots of close relationships to NFL execs, would find no evidence the NFL saw the video. Looks like I was right.

[ChicosBailBonds]

From the Sports Business Daily.  Thought the AP offering from Mueller was interesting


Mueller Report Finds No Evidence NFL Saw Ray Rice Tape Early
By Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer

A long-awaited report commissioned by the NFL and conducted by former FBI Dir Robert Mueller was released this afternoon and found that no one at the NFL received the video of Ray Rice punching his wife in a casino elevator before it was revealed by TMZ on Sept. 8. The AP reported shortly after the TMZ disclosure that someone at the league called a New Jersey law enforcement official and left a voice message April 9 confirming receipt of the video. Mueller’s team went through 1,583 calls made that day from the NFL and found none that matched the description of the call in the AP report.

The report said Mueller offered the AP a chance to look at the phone numbers and match it to their alleged source, and the wire service turned it down. The AP in a statement said, “We have reviewed the report and stand by our original reporting. The Mueller team did ask us for source material and other newsgathering information, but we declined. Everything that we report and confirm goes into our stories. We do not offer up reporters’ notes and sources.” The Atlantic City Police Department also declined to participate in the investigation, Mueller wrote.

However, Mueller did not let the NFL completely off the hook. He criticized the league for relying on law enforcement proceedings to conclude before dishing out discipline, a setup the league no longer follows after the Dec. 10 unveiling of its new personal conduct policy.


Mara, Rooney: Mueller Report Shows Goodell Has Been "Forthright"

In a statement, Giants President & CEO John Mara and Steelers President Art Rooney II, who oversaw the Mueller Report, said: "This matter has tarnished the reputation of the NFL due to our failure to hand out proper punishments. It has been a wake-up call to all involved and we expect the changes that have been made will lead to improvements in how any similar issues are handled in the future. It is clear to us that Commissioner Goodell was forthright in the statements he made to the owners about this matter, and we have every confidence that Roger Goodell is the right person to lead the league as we move forward" (THE DAILY).

ESPN’s Mark Dominik said, “I've been through these investigations. I know that they’re very thorough and I am sure that they came out with the findings that are correct because these are the facts that came through.” USA Today's Jarrett Bell added, “You wonder if this will really change what you thought or what anyone at home thought about what happened.” Bell: “Goodell skates a bit on this in terms of what he said publicly.” Dominik added, “The investigator said the league office should have done a lot more. … Everybody needed to hear that and they needed to say that. The other thing that you see there is that the clubs need to do a better job of securing information so that the whole National Football League doesn't look bad” (“NFL Insiders,” ESPN, 1/8).

The Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur tweeted, “So Robert Mueller criticizes the NFL on Rice, but doesn't find anything that actually shows a cover-up. I think that's the sweet spot.” ESPN’s Bill Simmons: “The Mueller Report chronicles a heroic 7-month effort by the NFL to desperately avoid figuring out what may have happened in the elevator.” SI’s Don Banks: “AP source is lying about having vocal confirmation of video arriving in NFL office? That's what Mueller report is in essence saying, right?”

[brandx]

Geez.... did anyone really think his buddies were gonna say he was a bad guy?

[forgetful]

From the Sports Business Daily.  Thought the AP offering from Mueller was interesting


Mueller Report Finds No Evidence NFL Saw Ray Rice Tape Early
By Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer

A long-awaited report commissioned by the NFL and conducted by former FBI Dir Robert Mueller was released this afternoon and found that no one at the NFL received the video of Ray Rice punching his wife in a casino elevator before it was revealed by TMZ on Sept. 8. The AP reported shortly after the TMZ disclosure that someone at the league called a New Jersey law enforcement official and left a voice message April 9 confirming receipt of the video. Mueller’s team went through 1,583 calls made that day from the NFL and found none that matched the description of the call in the AP report.

The report said Mueller offered the AP a chance to look at the phone numbers and match it to their alleged source, and the wire service turned it down. The AP in a statement said, “We have reviewed the report and stand by our original reporting. The Mueller team did ask us for source material and other newsgathering information, but we declined. Everything that we report and confirm goes into our stories. We do not offer up reporters’ notes and sources.” The Atlantic City Police Department also declined to participate in the investigation, Mueller wrote.

However, Mueller did not let the NFL completely off the hook. He criticized the league for relying on law enforcement proceedings to conclude before dishing out discipline, a setup the league no longer follows after the Dec. 10 unveiling of its new personal conduct policy.


Mara, Rooney: Mueller Report Shows Goodell Has Been "Forthright"

In a statement, Giants President & CEO John Mara and Steelers President Art Rooney II, who oversaw the Mueller Report, said: "This matter has tarnished the reputation of the NFL due to our failure to hand out proper punishments. It has been a wake-up call to all involved and we expect the changes that have been made will lead to improvements in how any similar issues are handled in the future. It is clear to us that Commissioner Goodell was forthright in the statements he made to the owners about this matter, and we have every confidence that Roger Goodell is the right person to lead the league as we move forward" (THE DAILY).

ESPN’s Mark Dominik said, “I've been through these investigations. I know that they’re very thorough and I am sure that they came out with the findings that are correct because these are the facts that came through.” USA Today's Jarrett Bell added, “You wonder if this will really change what you thought or what anyone at home thought about what happened.” Bell: “Goodell skates a bit on this in terms of what he said publicly.” Dominik added, “The investigator said the league office should have done a lot more. … Everybody needed to hear that and they needed to say that. The other thing that you see there is that the clubs need to do a better job of securing information so that the whole National Football League doesn't look bad” (“NFL Insiders,” ESPN, 1/8).

The Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur tweeted, “So Robert Mueller criticizes the NFL on Rice, but doesn't find anything that actually shows a cover-up. I think that's the sweet spot.” ESPN’s Bill Simmons: “The Mueller Report chronicles a heroic 7-month effort by the NFL to desperately avoid figuring out what may have happened in the elevator.” SI’s Don Banks: “AP source is lying about having vocal confirmation of video arriving in NFL office? That's what Mueller report is in essence saying, right?”

Translation, Mueller didn't have access to a lot of information, he dug just deep enough to make it look like he tried so that he could exonerate his buddies.  ESPN and others rallied the news trucks to make it look like the NFL is the good guy.

[GGGG]

The essence of the NFL's defense, as summarized by Mueller:

"Hey, we aren't evil.  We are just grossly incompetent." 

And the owners are OK with that.

[brandx]

All I ask.... If the law ever catches up to me, I want to be able to name three of my friends to do the investigation.

[ChicosBailBonds]

A long time ago I predicted that the NFL's own internal investigation, run by a guy with lots of close relationships to NFL execs, would find no evidence the NFL saw the video. Looks like I was right.

Like I said, some people will be impossible to please.  Mueller has a solid reputation as former head of the FBI, etc. It wasn't an internal investigation done by NFL employees.  Are there ties between Mueller and the NFL....absolutely.  Does that mean he can't be impartial?  Absolutely not.  There will always be doubters.   Some folks want a result and any investigation that doesn't deliver a result, well it must be tainted

I am curious why the AP didn't want to at least look at the phone records just for their own giggles to confirm things.  I guess sometimes it's easier for a news source to critique others, but may not be so willing to look under their own hood....just to confirm things were ok.

[Pakuni]

I am curious why the AP didn't want to at least look at the phone records just for their own giggles to confirm things.  I guess sometimes it's easier for a news source to critique others, but may not be so willing to look under their own hood....just to confirm things were ok.

You're seriously asking why a news organization doesn't want to share sourcing information with an entity it covers?

[jesmu84]

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/01/08/nfl-roger-goodell-ray-rice-robert-mueller-report