Ray Rice during his June 16 conversation with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he "punched his then-fiancee in a casino elevator ... an assertion that contradicts Goodell's statement this week that 'when we met with Ray Rice and his representatives, it was ambiguous about what actually happened,'" according to sources cited by Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com. A source said, "Ray didn't lie to the commissioner. He told the full truth to Goodell -- he made it clear he had hit her, and he told Goodell he was sorry and that it wouldn't happen again." Van Natta noted the sources' accounts "contradict Goodell's statement that he did not know precisely what had happened inside the elevator until he watched the TMZ Sports-released videotape on Monday morning" (ESPN.com, 9/11). Meanwhile, the WALL STREET JOURNAL's Kevin Clark cites a team owner as saying that Goodell over the summer "privately told other owners that ... Janay Rice said she had struck her then-fiancée and that she believed she was partly at fault for the incident." Goodell also said that he "left the meeting believing that Janay Rice had become unconscious because she had fallen during the scuffle." The source said that after Goodell "suspended Rice for two games in July," he "told several NFL owners that he felt it would have been insensitive to question Janay Rice's story because it would have come across as an indictment of her character." Two sources said that they "believe the thoroughness of the investigation, and Goodell's decision to suspend Rice for two games, both reflected Goodell's discomfort with challenging Janay Rice's story" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/12).
RAVENS LOOKED FOR SOME HELP: The Ravens have faced some criticism for not doing enough to get the elevator tape, and team owner Steve Bisciotti on Thursday reiterated Ravens security "did the steps that they normally would." He said, "They called the casino and they would not release it. They called the Jets and the Giants and said, ‘Do you have any influence? Is there any way that you can help us?’ They called back and said, ‘No, they would not release it.’ The prosecutor said yesterday that would have been illegal" ("Thursday Night Kickoff," CBS, 9/11).
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES: SI's Phil Taylor in this week's cover story writes the NFL's sudden and "appropriately harsh justice" that it doled out by indefinitely suspending Rice underscored the "other major problem with this saga: the NFL's troubling tendency to face problems head-on only after they've become threats to its carefully polished public relations machine" (SI, 9/15 issue). In Philadelphia, Bob Ford writes for the NFL, it is "all about appearances, and you can bet the league is going to make it appear it really cares about women from now on." Ford: "The NFL wants to help them, wants to protect them, wants to embrace them. Particularly in those cute cheerleader outfits" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/12).
CALLS CONTINUE FOR GOODELL'S OUSTER: GRANTLAND's Bill Simmons wrote Goodell "is the worst sports commissioner of my lifetime." The Rice case "wasn’t Goodell’s first mega-screwup; we’re on no. 8 or no. 9 at this point." But it is "his most memorable botch job, and easily his most indefensible." Simmons: "He needs to go. Put the league in someone else’s hands, please. We need the help" (GRANTLAND.com, 9/11). In Jacksonville, Gene Frenette writes the "undeniable truth is Goodell’s credibility as a leader has been forever compromised by the Rice case." If he "wants to protect his precious shield, then Goodell should resign so the NFL can move on better from the most embarrassing chapter in its history" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 9/12). In DC, Thom Loverro writes Goodell "has the credibility of Vince McMahon" and is "damaged goods." Loverro: "Nothing is going to change that" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 9/12). A RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH editorial states the NFL "needs a new leader" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 9/12). In Houston, Jerome Solomon writes Goodell's "bungling of the Rice case shouldn't cost him his job." If anything, his "inaction in ... other cases should" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/12).
PLAYERS OPINE: Browns LB Karlos Dansby said of Goodell's tenure moving forward, "It's going to be a trust issue. People who hired him probably are looking at him like, 'You can't have this stigma tied to the shield.' We're always talking about protect the shield. That's what we preach all day long -- protect the shield. Now the shield is in jeopardy. How are you going to protect the shield? That's the question you've got to ask everybody. 'How are you going to protect the shield like you been preaching?'" (CLEVELAND.com, 9/11). Former NFLer Jabari Greer: "There is no compassion from players for Roger Goodell in this moment. No compassion at all" (ESPN.com, 9/11).
TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT: Arizona State Univ. AD Ray Anderson served as NFL Exec VP/Football Operations from '06 until being hired by the school this January, and he said he is "personally very disappointed that the leadership at the NFL’s New York office seems to just be swirling around in chaos." Anderson: "That’s sad because there are too many good people working there that don’t deserve that. ... My time with the league, I thought there was an appropriate moral compass. I struggle now because I’m not sure I have as much faith that that is occurring. Again, I’m away from it now. That’s no longer my business, so I limit my comments to it other than to say there are some really fine people in the NFL and I have to believe in their integrity and in their commitment to the league. I just hope what appears to be kind of a fault in leadership doesn’t continue to negatively affect too many good people who don’t deserve to be in this firestorm” (AZCENTRAL.com, 9/11).
