The NFL offseason has "brought some off-the-field turmoil with three Ravens getting arrested in a 22-day span, including" star RB Ray Rice, who was charged with assaulting his fiancé, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore SUN. Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti "vowed to stick by Rice as he deals with his legal issues." Asked how concerned he was about the arrests, Bisciotti said, "No off-the-field incidents is our goal. When they came with a flurry, obviously it's disappointing and it's embarrassing. It's embarrassing for our organization and it's embarrassing for our city." He added, "I don't think there's a more admired kid that we drafted than Ray Rice. We're embarrassed and we're disappointed but no more than he is. I think what you have to do, when you look at the character of the man, is to see how he handles it and how he handles himself going forward" (Baltimore SUN, 3/25). Bisciotti: "I’ve been on record of saying my definition of character is repeating offenses. If we’re all one strike and you’re out, then we’re all in trouble. It’s how you respond to adversity. Ray has not experienced any." He added of the Ravens' image following the incidents this offseason, "You’re going to have some of these mishaps. They are a smudge on the organization. I don’t know whether if they were spread out, whether that would make it better or not. We just kind of have to roll with this, it kind of comes with the territory" (BALTIMORERAVENS.com, 3/24). Pressed on whether he was concerned about the team's image, Bisciotti said, "In a general sense, very much so. In a specific sense, not really. You're always concerned about the image, but the fact that they all happened at once, really is embarrassing to us. I think that we have a reputation for having a well-run organization. ... I'm disappointed. I'm not concerned" (ESPN.com, 3/24).
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE? ESPN’s Skip Bayless said Bisciotti "knows something that we don’t" following his comments yesterday concerning Rice's future with the club and asked, "Has he seen more of the video that we have not been privy to seeing?" Bayless: "What we saw obviously looked awful, and Steve Bisciotti did make the case that Ray Rice’s reputation will be forever stained over this. But he also thinks that Ray has a future in the organization. So I’m assuming he thinks Ray is going to be eligible to come back to his organization.” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said, “America is the land of second chances.” Smith: “This is the first incident that Ray Rice has been involved in to our knowledge and when you consider that this is the land of second chances, he deserves it.” Smith: “Strictly from a football perspective, Ray Rice has an even bigger problem and that is the perception is that he is no longer the Ray Rice we once knew. … He needs to show up and perform” (“First Take,” ESPN2, 3/25).
