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NFL, NFLPA agree to neutral arbitrator in Ray Rice's appeal
baltimoresun.com ^ | Sep 29, 2014 | Aaron Wilson

Posted on 09/29/2014 6:08:57 PM PDT by Enterprise

Article is excerpted per Copyright List.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to a neutral arbitrator to hear the appeal for indefinitely suspended former Ravens running back Ray Rice.

No hearing date or hearing officer have been determined yet, though, as talks continue between NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Smith addressed the development in an email to NFL players this afternoon, noting that potential candidates for the arbitration have been exchanged.

(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: battery; domestic; unconscious; violence
It boils down to this IMO. Yeah, it's sad that Ray clocked his wife. But we need him to play, there's too much money at stake. It's kind of a needs of the many outweigh the clocking of his wife kind of thing.
1 posted on 09/29/2014 6:08:57 PM PDT by Enterprise
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To: Enterprise
No, what it really boils down to is that the NFL and NFLPA have a labor agreement in place, and the NFL cannot suspend a player "indefinitely" without violating any number of terms of the collective bargaining agreement and even Federal labor law.

An added complication here is that Ray Rice was never employed by the NFL. He was under contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

2 posted on 09/29/2014 6:15:36 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("What in the wide, wide world of sports is goin' on here?")
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To: Alberta's Child

Well, that too. :)


3 posted on 09/29/2014 6:16:54 PM PDT by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: Enterprise

LOL.


4 posted on 09/29/2014 6:17:38 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("What in the wide, wide world of sports is goin' on here?")
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To: Enterprise
Gets the NFL off the hot seat. Whatever happens it's the arbitrator's doing.

I think it's OK if he plays again after paying a big penalty of some kind. I mean, the woman forgave him and still married him. He was not prosecuted. Is it the League's job to figure out if she's making clear headed decisions or not?

5 posted on 09/29/2014 6:18:47 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: Enterprise
A union protects its members.

How about a policeman who is guilty of wife abuse. Does he lose his means of livelyhood by being forced not to work again? Of course not.

I would admit the thick blue line is much wider than the 50 yd line.

6 posted on 09/29/2014 6:20:28 PM PDT by Zuben Elgenubi (NOPe to GOPe)
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To: All

They need to get rid of Goodell. He is an embarrassment to the league, this double punishment should have been very publicly opposed by the union before the ink dried but they were afraid of the wyminists.
Too many non-fans and non-customers are dictating to the league how they should operate and it will only lead to fewer quality, repeat/loyal fans in the long run because as we all know, it’s cheaper to keep a loyal customer than it is to find a new one.


7 posted on 09/29/2014 6:28:16 PM PDT by newnhdad (Our new motto: USA, it was fun while it lasted.)
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To: Zuben Elgenubi
"How about a policeman who is guilty of wife abuse. Does he lose his means of livelyhood by being forced not to work again?"

Even a limited search of the internet will show many cases of police officers losing their jobs because of domestic violence.

8 posted on 09/29/2014 6:40:10 PM PDT by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: Enterprise
Even a limited search of the internet will show many cases of police officers losing their jobs because of domestic violence.

My point was clearly a cop losing the ability to be a policeman forever, not just losing a particular assignment. A limited search does not come up with the stats on a lifetime ban from police employment, a is the case with footballer Rice who would be banned for life from playing football.

9 posted on 09/29/2014 6:48:48 PM PDT by Zuben Elgenubi (NOPe to GOPe)
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To: Zuben Elgenubi

Your point is fair enough then. It is possible for an officer to be fired from one agency over domestic violence issues and get hired at another agency.


10 posted on 09/29/2014 6:57:12 PM PDT by Enterprise ("Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire)
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To: Enterprise

This arbitration procedure outside the CBA benefits Ray Rice. The arbitrator will have to reinstate Rice because had already been punished by being suspended for two games.

Once that penalty was imposed, that was the end of it, and the NFL knows it.

This new arbitration is all for show so the NFL can blame the obvious decision on the arbitrator.


11 posted on 09/29/2014 7:10:11 PM PDT by SeaHawkFan
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To: SeaHawkFan

The can lift the suspension, but the Ravens released him. He might be able to play, but no team is going to touch him. At least not this season. And not for his former salary.


12 posted on 09/29/2014 8:33:03 PM PDT by Vermont Lt (He sounds good.Ebola: Death is a lagging indicator.)
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To: Vermont Lt

Ray Rice will be reinstated and get his money, minus the fine and pay for two games.


13 posted on 09/29/2014 10:06:58 PM PDT by SeaHawkFan
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To: SeaHawkFan

Who is going to pay him? The Ravens are not. They pay the guaranteed part of the contract, but his per game payments stop when he was released.


14 posted on 09/30/2014 3:44:12 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (He sounds good.Ebola: Death is a lagging indicator.)
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To: Vermont Lt

Rice has a very clear common law contract violation cause of action. The only reason he was released was because of the public outrage over just a two game suspension. They did not release him based on his performance. He was not prosecuted and was not convicted of anything.

IF the NFL declined to conduct its own arbitration rule under the CBA, neither the union nor the NFL can force Rice to agree to this new arbitration procedure unless there is a provision for this new process in the contract. Rice might be able to go directly to court to sue the NFL and union; but Rice might be better off agreeing to the outside arbitrator since it would be resolved in a much shorter time period; weeks instead of years.

Either way, Rice is going to win.


15 posted on 09/30/2014 4:01:14 AM PDT by SeaHawkFan
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To: SeaHawkFan

I don’t disagree. I think he gets “un suspended.” But, he won’t play this year.

Unless he has a good arm. I hear there might be an opening in Foxboro. And they got beat like Ray Rice’s wife last night.


16 posted on 09/30/2014 4:20:46 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (He sounds good.Ebola: Death is a lagging indicator.)
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To: Vermont Lt

While an arbitrator could not force the NFL and the Ravens to put him back on the roster, he will probably rule that the Ravens have to pay him his contracted salary for the entire season, or maybe even the total contract.


17 posted on 09/30/2014 11:10:25 AM PDT by SeaHawkFan
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