Ray Rice gets standing ovation

[jonboy79]

First off, let's get a few things out of the way. Yes, the NFL has seen the tape. Yes, they are probably paying some dough behind the scenes to make sure it doesn't get out like the first one.

Second, I'll tell you one reason why people are cheering for him, because they are showing their support for a man trying to get his life together. Because they are letting he who is without sin cast the first stone. Because they don't live in glass houses. Because they aren't going to take a man whose done great things for this city, it's communities and it's youth, and damn him to hell or the outskirts of response, because of one fall from grace. That they are not happy with what he did, but care about him deeply enough to want to stick by him to recover from this experience.

Because guess what, one day your children may find themselves in situations like this and you're already showing them that maybe, just maybe, they can work hard their entire life, do everything by the book, but be virtually dead to everyone once they make their first major mistake.

And another thing. There are actually some fans who don't give credence to the idea that a woman can flail on a man like a maniac, spit on him and go raving mad, and have all of the focus be on the man being abusive for ANY PHYSICAL RESPONSE WHAT SO EVER WHILE SHE GETS OFF LIKE CARMEN SAN DI FREAKING EGO!!.

That's not even considering the fact that we are all speculating off of a tape that NONE OF US HAVE EVEN SEEN.

So the charges were increased for Ray. So, so what? All that came of it was what, COUNSELING? Counseling? There is no way in the world that Ray Rice is going to skip jail time for cold cocking his wife in an elevator and it being caught on tape.

And her charges aren't increased on some technicality that bodily harm has to be done.

I'll tell you what, I couldn't give a shit if she hit like Gumby. If she's flailing, the braud needs to go to jail. If Ray did indeed cold cock her, he needed to be in jail too.

But at the end of the day, they were both at fault, they both reconciled and are trying to move forward. FROM ONE KNOWN INCIDENT.

Keep on acting like this, and when it's your turn, watch everybody turn their back on you for that one DUI, or that one time your kid gets a hold of your gun when you forget to put it away. Or the one time your wife maybe, just maybe, STARTS SCREAMING ON YOU LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL, and God forbid she actually knows how to throw a punch. How are you gonna handle that? She can hit like a man and it hurts like a man. You gonna walk away then? Walk right through the elevator, because if you don't.................................................you now know what awaits you.

great post. I think it's quite ok for people to cheer the man to show their support. He needs support to change.

[Bigfish]

People cheer for Ray because he is a player on their favorite team. Not because of what happened in the elevator.

:word

Those idiots don't think. Imagine a stadium full of people supporting their team not cheer when their team is successful. They react to a positive play by cheering.

[The Excellector]

And it does help that he plays for the Ravens. If he played for the Steelers, naturally, he'd be the spawn of Satan.

[RavenScallywag]

Great article. It really is hypocritical how people single out one person and try to make them a villain while ignoring that others did the same things. Why does a video tape somehow make Rice worse then anyone else who did it while not being recorded?

If you can't cheer Rice, you shouldn't be able to cheer a lot of the stars out there.

Here's where I will defend the other side of the coin a bit...

bmorecareful's point was that, assuming the player in question isn't a total scumbag who isn't apologetic for the incident and working to better themselves, there is an eventual likelihood that players with DV cases will be forgiven and maybe eventually forgotten. Thing is, there is a time period associated with that, which is an opinion call. Let's just say this incident had happened in October instead of February. There is no way in HELL I'd expect Ray to be cheered the game after the tape came out, before the whole thing had played out (IN MY OPINION anyway, let me make sure I re-highlight that caveat). But since he had 3-4 months between the incident and his first public appearance for football, he had time to begin his apologies and repairing. So for some people, enough time has past that they are willing to forgive Ray enough to cheer him. For some, that time period will have to be longer (Example #1, he says he's going to do more to support DV victims, some may want to see those words turn into actions first). And I think that's fine. For some, it may take a whole year, two years, etc. Again, I can agree with that.

What I don't like is this brow beating or shaming that people are trying to villify the fans who ARE cheering him, saying "Oh you must support DV then". No, what I support is that I think Rice is working to repair his image. Just like how Rolle, Williams, etc...they paid for their transgressions, they showed it was isolated, and their image was repaired, hence they were cheered again.

[The Excellector]

I want to know if his wife is doing anything to help DV victims.

[lovefootball]

Time to let it go, Rice and his wife are moving on with their lives. Wonder why the critics can't do the same. We live in an imperfect world, there are greater evils happening then some jock and his girlfriend having a bad moment. It was entertaining reading who the defenders are and those who have to constantly make their points to win over others. Now, it's stupid to argue about fans and whether they are right or wrong supporting Rice. Done reading anything about Rice and his bad night. Carry on.

[HotInHere]

Time to let it go, Rice and his wife are moving on with their lives. Wonder why the critics can't do the same. We live in an imperfect world, there are greater evils happening then some jock and his girlfriend having a bad moment. It was entertaining reading who the defenders are and those who have to constantly make their points to win over others. Now, it's stupid to argue about fans and whether they are right or wrong supporting Rice. Done reading anything about Rice and his bad night. Carry on.

:word

All that can be said has been said. Three of the top ten threads are on this subject. I'm going to return to discussing what's going on between the lines.

[GOTA]

Time to let it go, Rice and his wife are moving on with their lives. Wonder why the critics can't do the same. We live in an imperfect world, there are greater evils happening then some jock and his girlfriend having a bad moment. It was entertaining reading who the defenders are and those who have to constantly make their points to win over others. Now, it's stupid to argue about fans and whether they are right or wrong supporting Rice. Done reading anything about Rice and his bad night. Carry on.

Because of that tape. If there had been no tape shown on TV this never would have become anywhere near the story it's become. Now it will never go away.

[Trackmaster]

Because of that tape. If there had been no tape shown on TV this never would have become anywhere near the story it's become. Now it will never go away.

And that's why if Ray Rice was an average guy off the street, and this was a court of law, the jury would not have been allowed to see the tape, and if the judge allowed it to be shown, the defense would have had a very strong case in appeals. The tape showed nothing conclusive enough or relevant to the case enough to be valid in a court of law. All that it did was show Rice drag an unconscious fiancé. As we've seen, people see a juicy hook and never let go, regardless of if it helps lead to a logical conclusion.