Ray Rice is cooked. Just about everybody saw him clock his then-fiancé in an elevator
thanks to a videotape that TMZ acquired, beating the NFL to the punch seen around the
nation.
Rice is being treated like the worst person on the planet for cold-cocking the woman who
is now his wife. He has lost just about everything: respect, his fans, a multi-million dollar
contract, and all his endorsement deals.
He is unemployed and will stay that way until some desperate team in the NFL comes
calling. That's right, the same NFL that has banned the former Baltimore Ravens indefinitely.
Rice is just 27-years old and after he serves his time (most likely a one-year suspension),
he will be back playing for pay some time next year, trust me.
Remember when Michael Vick was sent to the Big House to serve almost two years for
slaughtering dogs? This dog-loving nation was outraged. They thought Vick was the worst
human being to ever step foot on American soil. Like Rice, he lost everything including
his freedom. Nobody thought Michael Vick, convicted felon, would ever play again.
What happened? The Philadelphia Eagles had a contract waiting for him almost
as soon as he turned in his orange jumpsuit. Why? Because Vick was relatively young
and still had some thunder in his arm and lightning in his legs. He could help an NFL
team win and folks, that's still the name of the game.
I remember former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson telling me that NFL
teams were talent whores. "Paul, if Charles Manson could run a 4.3 forty," Johnson said.
"A team in the NFL would find a way to break him out of jail and sign him to a contract."
Johnson was being facetious, of course, but I got the picture and so should you.
The public outrage against Rice is off the charts right now, just as it was for Michael
Vick when he was sent to prison for running a dogfighting ring and killing many of his
"pets." That will die down with some time, or until the next scandal drops. We are
also a nation that loves to give second chances and Ray Rice will get his.
Remember Donte Stallworth? Several years ago, the veteran wide receiver was drunk
out of his mind when he killed a pedestrian with his car. Stallworth spent a whopping
24 days in jail and served a one-year suspension courtesy of commissioner Roger
Goodell. But as soon as he was cleared to play again, the Baltimore Ravens, yes,
the same team that gave Rice the ax, were there with an $800,000 contract for Stallworth.
Why did the Ravens want to give killer a new contract? That's right, because Stallworth
had great speed and was the deep threat the Ravens so desperately needed.
Josh Brent of the Dallas Cowboys killed a teammate in 2012 in a drunk-driving
accident and he recently just finished his jail sentence. He is eligible to return to the NFL
after serving an 10-game suspension for killing a teammate! Are you kidding me?
Stallworth and Brent actually killed people and returned to the NFL. And you think
Ray Rice is done playing for good? Seriously?
There will be some team who will take a chance on Rice just as they did Michael
Vick and Donte Stallworth. Brent will probably be back in a Cowboys uniform
later this season.
Remember when Lawrence Phillips, an All-American running back at Nebraska
was arrested for dragging his girlfriend down a flight of stairs on-campus? Oh,
there wasn't any explosive video but it was pretty bad according to the police
reports. The St. Louis Rams still took him with the sixth pick in the 1996 NFL
Draft knowing what they did about Phillips. He was a complete thug. But they
overlooked that because Phillips was a 220-pound wrecking ball who could run
a 4.4 40-yard dash.
There will be some team who will have a need for a running back and feel they
can get Rice at "good value" when he serves his suspension. It's kind of like
finding a deal on a new pair of Under Armour shoes that list for $200 but because
they have a few nicks on them, you got them for $110. The NFL is really not all
that much different.
Oh, yeah, lest we forget Ray Lewis. He was involved in a murder investigation in
Atlanta after the 2000 Super Bowl. The Ravens didn't cut him like they booted
Rice off the team once all the public outrage started.
Yes, Ray Rice is the worst person on earth right now. But at this time next year,
he'll probably be wearing the jersey of your favorite team and you'll be
pretty fired about it because, after all, he can run between the tackles and get into
the end zone and that's what it's all about, isn't it?
0 comments:
Post a Comment