The Ray Rice Debacle

[Kevin Youkulele]

A side note... During the Pats game I found the way NBC handled reporting the release of the report nauseating.

They clearly gave Costas and Michaels carefully scripted statements to robotically read on air. Plus Costas threw to Peter King pre-game to add carefully scripted commentary.

It was so transparently plastic and clearly an effort to check the box of "reporting" the findings without saying anything that would upset the NFL and Goodell.

Really awful.

What do you expect, NBC pretty clearly has a conflict of interest here.  They're aligned/[SIZE=13.63636302948px]in a big money business partnership [/SIZE]with the NFL.  No one should expect objectivity from them on issues material to the [SIZE=13.63636302948px]league image[/SIZE].

 

[8slim]

What do you expect, NBC pretty clearly has a conflict of interest here.  They're aligned/in a big money business partnership with the NFL.  No one should expect objectivity from them on issues material to the league image.

Well, there are three other networks that have huge NFL deals, but I didn't see them cover the findings in such a manner. I think there's a happy medium somewhere between eviscerating journalism and ass-kissing propaganda that they could have found.

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

I feel like I need a shower after listening to Costas for more than 30 seconds.

 

[Ed Hillel]

You could tell Michaels felt sick reading that statement, yet Collinsworth took great pleasure in every second.

 

[Kevin Youkulele]

Well, there are three other networks that have huge NFL deals, but I didn't see them cover the findings in such a manner. I think there's a happy medium somewhere between eviscerating journalism and ass-kissing propaganda that they could have found.

I haven't been paying much attention--did one of the other nets do something reasonably objective? If they're just ducking the issue, that's probably a better way of responding to the conflict than disingenuous ass kissing. Do no harm and all that.

 

[glennhoffmania]

I didn't know if this was worth a separate thread so I'll stick it here for now:

 

A controversial ad is set for airing during the Sunday broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX that not only focuses on what they say are the NFL's failures to properly address domestic violence, but also calls for the resignation of commissioner Roger Goodell.
 
The 16-second spot, purchased by women's rights organization Ultraviolet, depicts a football player tackling a woman on a football field, then says: "Let's take domestic violence out of football."
 
Ultraviolet says that Goodell ignored 55 incidents of domestic violence involving NFL players and has taken its insistence that the commissioner resign much farther than the hashtag #GOODELLMUSTGO. During the AFC Championship at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and the NFC Championship at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, the group flew banners over both stadiums with the hashtag on them.
 

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

Ray Rice may be a shithead, but he's now an apologetic shithead:
 

"The last seven years that my family and I have spent in Baltimore have by far been the best of our lives," Rice said in a letter issued to The Baltimore Sun. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for the love and support you've shown my family and I throughout my football career. We'll always be grateful for the love we've received from all of our fans and supporters, and for winning a Super Bowl.
 
"To all the kids who looked up to me, I'm truly sorry for letting you down, but I hope it's helped you learn that one bad decision can turn your dream into a nightmare. There is no excuse for domestic violence, and I apologize for the horrible mistake I made. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and I hope to make a positive difference in people's lives by raising awareness of this issue."
 
He went on to thank the Ravens organization, owner Steve Bisciotti, general manager Ozzie Newsome and coach John Harbaugh.  "I love you all very much, and I'll always be proud to say I played for the Baltimore Ravens," Rice said in the letter to the Sun.

 
On a Friday.  Two weeks after the super bowl.  Sounds like the timing was directed by 245 Park Ave.

 

[amarshal2]

INDIANAPOLIS— Explaining that the new exercise will help teams more accurately and comprehensively assess draft prospects, NFL representatives confirmed Tuesday that the newest scouting combine drill simply places college players in a small room alone with a woman. 

 
Full text: http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-nfl-combine-drill-places-player-alone-in-room,38029/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Pic%3A2%3ADefault
 
edit: in case you can't see the link, it's The Onion.

 

[IdiotKicker]

In all honesty, if I were an NFL GM with a pick in the top 5, I would absolutely take my top choices out for a whole day and just watch how they interact with people. Run the gamut from stuff like Dunkin Donuts to a nice steakhouse and see how they treat the people they run into and so forth.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

In all honesty, if I were an NFL GM with a pick in the top 5, I would absolutely take my top choices out for a whole day and just watch how they interact with people. Run the gamut from stuff like Dunkin Donuts to a nice steakhouse and see how they treat the people they run into and so forth.

They do this with many prospects. Disclaimer: I'm best friends with his adopted family......The Raiders 3rd round pick two years ago (LB #55) was with two representatives from the Bears for 6 hours the day before the draft and 4 hours with the Ravens the day prior to that.

It's interesting hearing first hand about these experiences and come some team reps communicate everything with the player while others don't at all. Ex: The Ravens communicated they Sio was #4 on their board. He was their 2nd choice at LB and 3rd overall. Their top choice (DB Matt Elam) was available and picked, their top LB (Arthur Brown) was there in the 2nd and picked by them. Had both gone earlier they had told him he would be their 1st round pick. OTOH, the Bears who spent 6 hours with him the day before never showed their hand as to any plans for him (they drafted a LB in the 2nd round).

Edit: apropos of nothing.....the Raiders fine players $10k if they lose their playbook. It's written into their contract.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

They do this with many prospects. Disclaimer: I'm best friends with his adopted family......The Raiders 3rd round pick two years ago (LB #55) was with two representatives from the Bears for 6 hours the day before the draft and 4 hours with the Ravens the day prior to that.

It's interesting hearing first hand about these experiences and come some team reps communicate everything with the player while others don't at all. Ex: The Ravens communicated they Sio was #4 on their board. He was their 2nd choice at LB and 3rd overall. Their top choice (DB Matt Elam) was available and picked, their top LB (Arthur Brown) was there in the 2nd and picked by them. Had both gone earlier they had told him he would be their 1st round pick. OTOH, the Bears who spent 6 hours with him the day before never showed their hand as to any plans for him (they drafted a LB in the 2nd round).

Edit: apropos of nothing.....the Raiders fine players $10k if they lose their playbook. It's written into their contract.

 
 
That is standard NFL practice: 
 
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444358404577609862193305518
 
 
Sio has developed nicely, he is a very fun player to watch, one of my favorites. 

 

[HomeRunBaker]

 
 
That is standard NFL practice: 
 
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444358404577609862193305518
 
 
Sio has developed nicely, he is a very fun player to watch, one of my favorites. 

He's a real good kid too. Came back to NC to visit kids in school even when he was at UConn. He's funny as shit too.....a real hoot!

Banged up a lot though. Season cut short w hip flexor and just had shoulder surgery last week.

 

[ifmanis5]

Domestic violence charges against former NFL player Ray Rice dismissed: http://t.co/XlIPWaIfkx pic.twitter.com/GbbRQ1OGcW
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 21, 2015

 

[Carmine Hose]

Pats sign him to fill RB need, and a giant FU to RG?

 

[LuckyBen]

Pats sign him to fill RB need, and a giant FU to RG?

And he went to Rutgers for the cherry on top.

 

[EvilEmpire]

Pats sign him to fill RB need, and a giant FU to RG?

If the Patriots were interested in saying FU to RG, Kraft would have said FU to RG.

 

[GBrushTWood]

It would be nice to have Ray Rice competing with Travaris Cadet in camp for the 3rd down back. It's not like the Pats can receive any worse publicity than they currently see.

 

[mwonow]

Given the rest of the offseason, isn't it a lock that he ends up in Dallas?