Merged: Ray Rice Released and Suspended

[TDubbs]

Great comments by Steve and I definitely appreciate the message to the fans. This puts an end to to the Ravens side of the story for me and Ray is not a Raven. Time to move on hopefully. 

[RobFuseRaven]

Did the stream die for anyone else?

[Florida Ravens Fan]

Biscotti is saying some weird stuff.

[sflegend89]

It's the sports media, they're all out to "break" the next big story, they're basically greasy politicians trying to market themselves as writers/journalists by any means possible, moral or immoral. I'll wait for the Mueller Investigation to be publicized, it's absolutely foolish to listen to what any journalist with a monetary stake in the scandal has to say. 

[bMore Heathen]

It's the sports media, they're all out to "break" the next big story, they're basically greasy politicians trying to market themselves as writers/journalists by any means possible, moral or immoral. I'll wait for the Mueller Investigation to be publicized, it's absolutely foolish to listen to what any journalist with a monetary stake in the scandal has to say.

Agreed. Is it just me, or does this "news conference" sound more like an investigation? They're just trying to get him to say something to get him in trouble. It's a joke. There is absolutely no reason for an owner to have to sit through something like that. The whole situation just keeps getting more ridiculous every day.

[Cville-Raven]

It's the sports media, they're all out to "break" the next big story, they're basically greasy politicians trying to market themselves as writers/journalists by any means possible, moral or immoral. I'll wait for the Mueller Investigation to be publicized, it's absolutely foolish to listen to what any journalist with a monetary stake in the scandal has to say. 

Yup, everyone's got their own little agenda. 

[Gordo52]

Please don't Count on the "Mueller investigation" either. Everything about this is going to have fabrications.

[balfan23]

If the Ravens have a different account and they believe that multiple false statements were made in that article, then I have no issue with them publicly addressing it. Given that the national media and quite frankly the public will take anything written as the gospel unless proven otherwise, I'm not sure the Ravens benefit at all from pretending like the story doesn't exist and just ignoring it... if the events in the story didn't take place as they said they did.

 

That, as I've now mentioned several times, is a job for UPPER management to handle, not Coach Harbaugh. Coach Harbaugh should be worrying about reviewing film, practice, and preparing his team for Sunday. I don't frankly care to hear what he has to say on the issue.

I get what you are saying ... you're right, we probably couldn't just ignore this and agreed, it's not Harbaugh's job (but it is Steve that's addressing it).

 

If we wanted to refute this, fine. We needed to do it simply through a statement (like the one that was written). Steve could announce that it is out there and that's it. No Q & A. Doing this Q & A session feels way to too free-lanced. Our friends at ESPN are busy going over every word and are going to find lots of ways to point out conflicts and inconsistencies in what is being said vs. what was written. Less is more in situations like this this is way, way more words than I hoped to hear. 

 

 

I said from the get-go this shouldn't be a Q & A session. Release the statement addressing what faults they found with 

[MTRavensFan]

Bisciotti defined them all as "Rice's camp" and said they're building a case for reinstatement by defaming the character of the organization.

It's burned.

He also said Rice was getting some very bad advice from his lawyers, etc., and he would not hold that against Ray.

[theblackdog]

I get what you are saying ... you're right, we probably couldn't just ignore this and agreed, it's not Harbaugh's job (but it is Steve that's addressing it).

 

If we wanted to refute this, fine. We needed to do it simply through a statement (like the one that was written). Steve could announce that it is out there and that's it. No Q & A. Doing this Q & A session feels way to too free-lanced. Our friends at ESPN are busy going over every word and are going to find lots of ways to point out conflicts and inconsistencies in what is being said vs. what was written. Less is more in situations like this this is way, way more words than I hoped to hear. 

 

 

I said from the get-go this shouldn't be a Q & A session. Release the statement addressing what faults they found with 

 

Except if Steve refused to take questions and only pointed to the written statement, then it would become a juggernaut of news articles about "Well why didn't he take questions?" and "What are the Ravens trying to hide?" Remember how badly the media painted Rice and his press conference as a joke a few months ago?  I don't think Steve would want to repeat a mistake like that.

[rmcjacket23]

Bisciotti defined them all as "Rice's camp" and said they're building a case for reinstatement by defaming the character of the organization.

It's burned.

True, but he also went out of his way to even specifically say that he didn't blame Rice for the article. He said he blames Ray's attorney and agent and people that are giving him information.

 

Basically, he said he disagrees with the approach that the people counseling Ray Rice have taken toward getting him reinstated.

[rmcjacket23]

Oooh Steve, that speculation on what would happen under a zero-tolerance policy, I get where you say you want it to be fair, but claiming there would be opportunistic people, not the time to bring that up...

 

EDIT: And now the video feed seems to have crashed :-/

I agree... wasn't the best reference.

 

But the entire concept of a "zero tolerance policy" is naive and stupid quite frankly. There really is no such thing as a "zero tolerance policy" when it comes to any legal matters these days.

 

You can have zero tolerance once you've actually estabilshed the facts of the case. But as he referenced, simply cutting a player under the heading of "zero tolerance" just based on an accusation would be terrible for business and for the people involved.

[MTRavensFan]

Did the stream die for anyone else?

It was broadcast live on both ESPN and NFLN

 

To paraphrase:  "It would have been nice of KVV to have acknowledged that everyone interviewed or quoted in that article is financially invested in seeing Rice's suspension lifted."

 

No kidding KVV wasn't showing up.

[theblackdog]

I agree... wasn't the best reference.

 

But the entire concept of a "zero tolerance policy" is naive and stupid quite frankly. There really is no such thing as a "zero tolerance policy" when it comes to any legal matters these days.

 

You can have zero tolerance once you've actually estabilshed the facts of the case. But as he referenced, simply cutting a player under the heading of "zero tolerance" just based on an accusation would be terrible for business and for the people involved.

 

I agree with you there about just immediately cutting a player based on an accusation would be terrible for any business.

[MTRavensFan]

Agreed. Is it just me, or does this "news conference" sound more like an investigation? They're just trying to get him to say something to get him in trouble. It's a joke. There is absolutely no reason for an owner to have to sit through something like that. The whole situation just keeps getting more ridiculous every day.

Not just you. They were definitely trying to trip him up. And they failed miserably.

 

LOVED it when he said "you're going to have to ask a better question. Or re-phrase that, because it makes no sense"....and you're a complete idiot.

[balfan23]

Except if Steve refused to take questions and only pointed to the written statement, then it would become a juggernaut of news articles about "Well why didn't he take questions?" and "What are the Ravens trying to hide?" Remember how badly the media painted Rice and his press conference as a joke a few months ago?  I don't think Steve would want to repeat a mistake like that.

And that would have been worse than what we are going to get now? You do realize there are a team of weasels scouring the transcript of every word Steve just said to find every little inconsistency and to twist and contort every word to try and further tangle him in their web?

 

Why give them the opportunity? 

 

Believe me, this did nothing to put anything to bed. This is going to be more gasoline on the fire. 

[tolucaraven]

KVV gets paid to get readers, he is hardly impartial.

[TheRavenouseD2008]

I am boycotting ESPN

[ratedr]

Bisciotti's answer about zero tolerance is gonna get him in hot water. That said, he's not wrong...you can't cut a player based solely on an accusation. Just as you can't assume all accusations are false, you can't assume they're all true either.

 

I don't like this idea that the NFL should serve as a proxy for the legal system.

[balfan23]

Bisciotti's answer about zero tolerance is gonna get him in hot water. That said, he's not wrong...you can't cut a player based solely on an accusation. Just as you can't assume all accusations are false, you can't assume they're all true either.

 

I don't like this idea that the NFL should serve as a proxy for the legal system.

This is why this whole Q & A session was a bad idea. Stuff is going to get said that you don't want said - not when you are under a microscope. Make a statement, and that is it. If they don't like that you're not willing to sit in front of an inquisition - too bad. 

[TDubbs]

This is why this whole Q & A session was a bad idea. Stuff is going to get said that you don't want said - not when you are under a microscope. Make a statement, and that is it. If they don't like that you're not willing to sit in front of an inquisition - too bad. 

 

Yeah I was wondering the same thing. I wish he would be began the presser by reading the statement they had just released (which obviously a lot of them may not have read) and still held the Q & A if he wished. That said, still commend him for his honesty. 

[ratedr]

This is why this whole Q & A session was a bad idea. Stuff is going to get said that you don't want said - not when you are under a microscope. Make a statement, and that is it. If they don't like that you're not willing to sit in front of an inquisition - too bad. 

I thought he did a good job overall, but that will be a quote a lot of people pick on.

 

That said, you can't blast Goodell for being a robot and than turn around and call Bisciotti flippant for his honesty. But of course people will do it anyway.

[ratedr]

The line by line denunciation of the ESPN report was more potent than the presser imo, but the presser was necessary because nobody is gonna read the written statement (it's long).

 

Fact is that people who want to believe the team is lying will continue to do so. There's nothing else Bisciotti can do.

[gabefergy]

Dude, you were/are close to wearing different colors. It was sorta funny to watch/read.

I don't believe for a second that Bisciotti is being 100% forthcoming, but what's the end result going to be? He clearly said he's nor firing people, and unless people come out with incriminating evidence, there won't be a fallout.

 

He is basically putting all the cards on the table at this point, and he's hoping his story is airtight. I don't think this is over by a long shot, but maybe the spin will do it's job and we can all move on.

[theblackdog]

Bisciotti's answer about zero tolerance is gonna get him in hot water. That said, he's not wrong...you can't cut a player based solely on an accusation. Just as you can't assume all accusations are false, you can't assume they're all true either.

 

I don't like this idea that the NFL should serve as a proxy for the legal system.

 

Yeah, I was facepalming when he said that. 

 

I also don't like the idea that it would create a precedence of "guilty until proven innocent."  I realize that now there is pressure that teams or the NFL should act quicker.  There is also the precedent that teams tend to wait until legal charges are resolved.  So is there a happy medium of allowing legal due process, but taking action quicker in egregious cases of bad behavior? That's the part that I hope that we can come to.

[ratedr]

This is becoming he said/she said, so it's kind of pointless at this juncture.

[Inqui]

Bisciotti's answer about zero tolerance is gonna get him in hot water. That said, he's not wrong...you can't cut a player based solely on an accusation. Just as you can't assume all accusations are false, you can't assume they're all true either.

 

I don't like this idea that the NFL should serve as a proxy for the legal system.

I can agree with that. As a means of player discipline it should be a supplementary thing to disincentivise bad behaviour. It'd be more worthwhile to ask how Ray got off despite the video evidence and to focus on improving the legal system, but instead it's all about what the league will do to the players.

 

Anyway, I'm still a bit sceptical of Bisciotti's statement, although to his credit he didn't get legalistic and use the Bill Clinton defence (you know the eight words I mean). This thing has officially devolved into a "he said, she said" story. Time to sit back and wait for the investigation, which in honesty I think will mostly clear the franchise.

[ratedr]

Yeah, I was facepalming when he said that. 

 

I also don't like the idea that it would create a precedence of "guilty until proven innocent."  I realize that now there is pressure that teams or the NFL should act quicker.  There is also the precedent that teams tend to wait until legal charges are resolved.  So is there a happy medium of allowing legal due process, but taking action quicker in egregious cases of bad behavior? That's the part that I hope that we can come to.

The exempt list (players are deactivated but still paid) is a decent compromise in my opinion.

[jazz1988]

 It's hard to forgive Ray for what he did and all the additional burden he put on his teammates and this organization as a whole but I also don't think it's right to beat a dead horse into the ground in the media when the guy has clearly already gone through hell and back losing his job and facing a vicious backlash for weeks and months on end.

 

At a certain point it's time to start spreading love instead of hate, instead of breaking him down over and over again maybe we as a society need to now offer him a helping hand back up. Ray had his day in court, he took full accountability, it's a despicable incident but it's time to move forward. People can change for the better and inspire others, that's what the human experience is about, not kicking people when they're already down. That doesn't mean all is instantly forgiven and we should act like nothing ever happened but there's nothing positive or productive from this fabricated media buzz storm that's entire purpose is to draw in additional viewers and has nothing to do with the actual morality behind what happened or you would hear the name "Greg Hardy" every 5 minutes on the news networks as well.

 

I wonder if it's really too late to show love and of course we can  forgive him(I been did that) but it's not like he can play for the team again  and we already had 7,000 or more fans turn in their Ray Rice jerseys  and etc. The Ravens organization has made it clear they don't want nothing of Ray Rice near their name/brand  but anything is possible.

[rmcjacket23]

And that would have been worse than what we are going to get now? You do realize there are a team of weasels scouring the transcript of every word Steve just said to find every little inconsistency and to twist and contort every word to try and further tangle him in their web?

 

Why give them the opportunity? 

 

Believe me, this did nothing to put anything to bed. This is going to be more gasoline on the fire. 

But what Steve clearly made known, in my opinion, is that he doesn't care how much gasoline is poured on the fire.

 

He clearly said he has no interest in selling the team unless he's forced to (which he won't be) and he VERY CLEARLY said that nobody in this organization (or at least nobody of "note") is going to lose their job over this.

 

So in reality... what else does the media firestorm have? Its 100% Steve's decision whether or not somebody loses their job. The entire media firestorm is essentially centered around making sure that people that are deemed "responsible" lose their job.