Baltimore Ravens Terminate Ray Rice's Contract After Video Surfaces Of Him Knocking Out Janay Palmer With One Punch

It hasn't been a great day for the NFL. A few months back a video leaked of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice dragging his unconscious then-fiancé out of an elevator inside the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Rice and Janay Palmer actually married a month after the assault and in a May press conference she shocked the media by taking some responsibility for provoking his violent behavior. This morning surveillance video from the elevator leaked and it showed Rice punching Palmer in the face and knocking her out cold.

The NFL had originally suspended Rice for two games because of his violent attack on Palmer and the punishment almost immediately came under fire from domestic violence advocate groups. To put it in perspective, players that have been caught smoking marijuana have suffered more immediate consequences than Rice did for assaulting and causing bodily harm to a woman; both the Arizona Cardinal's Daryl Washington and Cleveland Browns' Josh Gordon were recently suspended for the 2014 season for suspected marijuana use. The NFL had addressed some of the backlash against Rice's punishment by insisting that in the future they will take a tougher stance on domestic violence issues but a lot of damage in the eyes of the general public had already been done.

Several hours after the footage of Rice punching Palmer went viral it was announced that his $50 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens had been officially terminated. On the off chance that another team would even see Rice as an option he has been indefinitely suspended from the NFL. The Ravens insist that their original punishment had been handed out without having an opportunity to see the video of the assault for themselves, and upon doing so they realized that more action was necessary.

Do you think that being released from his current 5-year contract and then being suspended from playing anywhere else was a fitting punishment for Ray Rice? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Tags

Janay Palmer, NFL, Domestic Violence, Ray Rice