Ray Rice wins appeal

(SportsNetwork.com) – Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been reinstated to the NFL, winning an appeal of his indefinite suspension from the league on Friday.

Rice, who has been suspended since Sept. 8 for punching his now-wife in an Atlantic City Casino back in February, is now free to sign with any NFL team.

“This decision is a victory for a disciplinary process that is fair and transparent. This union will always stand up and fight for the due process rights of our players. While we take no pleasure in seeing a decision that confirms what we have been saying about the Commissioner’s office acting arbitrarily, we hope that this will bring the NFL owners to the collective bargaining table to fix a broken processm,” the NFLPA said in a statement.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell initially suspended Rice for two games over the incident, but later banned him indefinitely for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy following the release of video footage that showed him striking Janay Palmer inside an elevator of the Revel Casino.

The video rocked the league and also led to Rice’s release by the Ravens on the same day Goodell announced the harsher penalty.

Surveillance footage showed Rice and Palmer entering the elevator at the now- closed casino. The two were standing next to each other before a minor shove. Rice then moved away and Palmer rushed toward him before he reacted with a quick left-handed blow.

Rice appealed the indefinite suspension at a hearing in early November, one in which Goodell testified. Rice and his wife also testified, as did Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome.

The NFL Players Association argued the league violated labor laws by increasing Rice’s punishment after the video surfaced. Goodell spent most of his time under cross-examination by outside players union attorney Jeffrey Kessler.

The 27-year-old Rice is a three-time Pro Bowler, rushing for 6,180 yards and 37 touchdowns in six seasons with Baltimore.

Categorized in: NFL