Mizzou's Michael Sam comes out

[Gothamite]

Dungy publicly advocated for laws prohibiting gay people from being married.

Unless and until he publicly recants that position, we know exactly how he feels about gay people.

Jeff Fisher believed he's capable of handling any potential distractions so that the team can be successful and still make society better. Tony Dungy evidently doesn't think of himself as a good enough coach to do that.

Bingo.

Even the most charitable interpretation of the remarks doesn't do Dungy any favors.

[rams80]

Seriously though, I expect most of the Rams would see "how are you handling a gay teammate" questions as a breath of fresh air compared to the "you guys are playing San Fran twice and Seattle once in a 4 week span. Oh, and Seattle's a short week after one of the San Fran games. How the are you going to survive?" questions.

[ElwoodCuse]

I used to want to smack anyone who said "it is what it is". Replace that now with "distractions".

[Sport]

The Brooklyn Nets went to the second round of the playoffs with a gay man sitting on their bench. They were so distracted they were only about to beat Miami once.

[Gothamite]

And while a once-universally respected former coach is now claiming that hiring a gay player beloved by his college teammates would somehow be too much of a "distraction" for a coach to control, the NFL has just said that a first violation of the marijuana policy is twice as bad as beating your fiancee into unconsciousness.

I've defended Goodell on many occassions, but I'm nearing my breaking point with this league.

[BBTV]

not only that, but using the wrong over-the-counter supplements is worth twice the punishment than pummeling your wife.

[Raysfan12]

not only that, but using the wrong over-the-counter supplements is worth twice the punishment than pummeling your wife.

What a twisted world we live in where beating your wife gets you less suspended than using over-the-counter medicine and marijuana.

[STL FANATIC]

In fairness, the issue isn't so much the actual suspensions currently being handed down, it's that Goodell and the league haven't acted to change their policies so that priorities more align.

I never expected Rice to get something comparable to what drug violations get under the current approved system. The issue is that they haven't yet changed the system.

[IceCap]

In fairness, the issue isn't so much the actual suspensions currently being handed down, it's that Goodell and the league haven't acted to change their policies so that priorities more align.

I never expected Rice to get something comparable to what drug violations get under the current approved system. The issue is that they haven't yet changed the system.

Goodell has shown a willingness to use a heavy hand on "off the field" incidents before. So I don't see this as him being hamstrung by a pre-arranged system. That he went so lightly on Rice is embarrassing for him and the league. I expected better out of Goodell to be honest. This seems like a "punishment" Tagliabue would have handed down.

[-kj]

It's not that I don't think it's a serious matter, but unless I'm mistaken, Rice hasn't even gone to trial yet, right? (Yes, there's evidence, but we aren't a jury.) Shouldn't the league be dealing with matters that lead to convictions, not just accusations? If this were after a conviction, two games would be a ridiculously-short suspension.

...er, and now I've gone way off topic. Sorry.

[Needschat]

This shows how the NFL office treats women: WITHOUT respect. Remember, Ben Roethlisberger was suspended by the Steelers for mere accusations. Eye-test evidence of Rice with an unconscious woman gets 2 from the league, ZERO from the Ravens.

And do NOT give me bullshirt about "She started it." Hitting a woman is WRONG, shows just how much of a coward you are!

[monkeypower]

This shows how the NFL office treats women: WITHOUT respect. Remember, Ben Roethlisberger was suspended by the Steelers for mere accusations. Eye-test evidence of Rice with an unconscious woman gets 2 from the league, ZERO from the Ravens.

And do NOT give me bullshirt about "She started it." Hitting a woman is WRONG, shows just how much of a coward you are!

I don't know.

I agree that yes, if you are a man you should have a higher threshold for hitting an antagonistic woman than an antagonistic man. But if a woman is doing something that can potentially harm you, I'm all for fighting back.

It should be self-defensive though, just plain beating a woman (or a man for that matter) is wrong.

[FiddySicks]

And while a once-universally respected former coach is now claiming that hiring a gay player beloved by his college teammates would somehow be too much of a "distraction" for a coach to control, the NFL has just said that a first violation of the marijuana policy is twice as bad as beating your fiancee into unconsciousness.

I've defended Goodell on many occassions, but I'm nearing my breaking point with this league.

But this wasn't Gordon's first offense. Maybe his first marijuana offense, but he's broken the rules before. The Gordon suspension and the Rice suspension aren't one in the same.

[Needschat]

This shows how the NFL office treats women: WITHOUT respect. Remember, Ben Roethlisberger was suspended by the Steelers for mere accusations. Eye-test evidence of Rice with an unconscious woman gets 2 from the league, ZERO from the Ravens.

And do NOT give me bullshirt about "She started it." Hitting a woman is WRONG, shows just how much of a coward you are!

I don't know.

I agree that yes, if you are a man you should have a higher threshold for hitting an antagonistic woman than an antagonistic man. But if a woman is doing something that can potentially harm you, I'm all for fighting back.

It should be self-defensive though, just plain beating a woman (or a man for that matter) is wrong.

We're not talking about self-defense. Leave that out of any Rice conversations. It muddies the water, detracts from his beating a woman.

[wonderbread]

This shows how the NFL office treats women: WITHOUT respect. Remember, Ben Roethlisberger was suspended by the Steelers for mere accusations. Eye-test evidence of Rice with an unconscious woman gets 2 from the league, ZERO from the Ravens.

And do NOT give me bullshirt about "She started it." Hitting a woman is WRONG, shows just how much of a coward you are!

I don't know.

I agree that yes, if you are a man you should have a higher threshold for hitting an antagonistic woman than an antagonistic man. But if a woman is doing something that can potentially harm you, I'm all for fighting back.

It should be self-defensive though, just plain beating a woman (or a man for that matter) is wrong.

We're not talking about self-defense. Leave that out of any Rice conversations. It muddies the water, detracts from his beating a woman.

we don't know what happened in the elevator, we only saw what happened after as he dragged her out.

[STL FANATIC]

It's not that I don't think it's a serious matter, but unless I'm mistaken, Rice hasn't even gone to trial yet, right? (Yes, there's evidence, but we aren't a jury.) Shouldn't the league be dealing with matters that lead to convictions, not just accusations? If this were after a conviction, two games would be a ridiculously-short suspension.

...er, and now I've gone way off topic. Sorry.

The legal system has essentially played out. They essentially said you're guilty, but we'll avoid trial, kinda punish you, and then let you pretend—legally—that it never happened.

Rice settled those charges by entering a pretrial program in May, which meant he was not required to pay a criminal fine or serve jail time. The indictment will be cleared from Rice’s record in one year.

http://time.com/3030545/ray-rice-suspended-nfl/

[monkeypower]

This shows how the NFL office treats women: WITHOUT respect. Remember, Ben Roethlisberger was suspended by the Steelers for mere accusations. Eye-test evidence of Rice with an unconscious woman gets 2 from the league, ZERO from the Ravens.

And do NOT give me bullshirt about "She started it." Hitting a woman is WRONG, shows just how much of a coward you are!

I don't know.

I agree that yes, if you are a man you should have a higher threshold for hitting an antagonistic woman than an antagonistic man. But if a woman is doing something that can potentially harm you, I'm all for fighting back.

It should be self-defensive though, just plain beating a woman (or a man for that matter) is wrong.

We're not talking about self-defense. Leave that out of any Rice conversations. It muddies the water, detracts from his beating a woman.

I wasn't meaning Rice's situation. I thought you were making more of a general statement and so I made a general statement.

I don't see any way (at least not with the current evidence) that Rice is able to shift anything away from himself.

[HedleyLamarr]

Supposedly, Rice's wife....you know, the victim....went to Goodell and asked him to not punish Rice that harshly. The same woman that made a sort-of apology not too long after she got assaulted.

But yeah, two games for assaulting a woman is a joke when victimless crimes and missteps involving drugs gets you at least four games. But as I mentioned in the proper NFL Offseason thread, this short of a punishment may be the NFL's way of throwing the NFLPA a bone should the league go light in their punishment for Jim Irsay, the Colts owner, for his misdeeds during the offseason.

[rams80]

Supposedly, Rice's wife....you know, the victim....went to Goodell and asked him to not punish Rice that harshly. The same woman that made a sort-of apology not too long after she got assaulted.

Ummmm....Cripes no part of that sounds good.

[NJTank]

It's not that I don't think it's a serious matter, but unless I'm mistaken, Rice hasn't even gone to trial yet, right? (Yes, there's evidence, but we aren't a jury.) Shouldn't the league be dealing with matters that lead to convictions, not just accusations? If this were after a conviction, two games would be a ridiculously-short suspension.

...er, and now I've gone way off topic. Sorry.

The legal system has essentially played out. They essentially said you're guilty, but we'll avoid trial, kinda punish you, and then let you pretendlegallythat it never happened.

Rice settled those charges by entering a pretrial program in May, which meant he was not required to pay a criminal fine or serve jail time. The indictment will be cleared from Rices record in one year.

http://time.com/3030545/ray-rice-suspended-nfl/

It's called Pre Trial Intervention (PTI). All first time offenders charged with 3rd degree or less can apply and will likely get in. It can last 1-3 years and is the same as probation, with the exc err ption the case is dismissed upon successful completion of the program.