BALTIMORE, MD. — For the once-proud Baltimore Ravens franchise, the 2015 NFL season will long be remembered as its worst ever.
With an embarrassing record of just 2 wins and 8 losses, halfway through the season, it’s a long-shot whether the team will make the playoffs, with the Cincinnati Bengals riding high in first place with an 8-1 record, and the Ravens’ main nemesis, the Pittsburgh Steelers, holding steady with a respectable 6-4 record.
For this writer, I would have to point-out that the Ravens’ unexpectedly pitiful season stems back to the team’s unprofessional, non-classy method of handling the Ray Rice episode of less than two years ago. Perhaps, it’s not such a coincidence that just over a year ago, when Rice was receiving his well-deserved scrutiny following his highly-publicized physical attack of his then-girlfriend-now wife, Janay Palmer Rice – the Ravens’ ownership and administrative leadership, including owner Steve Biscotti, General Manager, Ozzie Newsome and Head Coach John Harbaugh, all three — simply wiped their hands clean of young, Mr. Rice, cut their proverbial losses and fired their primary running back from their organization.
Not only did the team cut him from their squad, it was the way it was all handled. A season prior to firing him from their team, Rice had led the Ravens to their second Lombardi trophy, as the winners of Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013 . Rice was heralded as Baltimore’s All-American boy – had earned status as one of the city’s favorite professional players, and was a crowd favorite, with a stellar reputation among his thousands of child fans. On the Ravens website, they still tout Rice’s anti-bullying foundations, such as Ray’s Links of Kindness, and A Ray of Hope.
In a city that prides itself as “Charm City,” Ray Rice was emblematic of the most charming {maybe second only to the other Ray (Lewis)} of all the Super Bowl Ravens.
While most people agree that Rice did himself harm, when the infamous videotape surfaced – with him striking his lover lady at a Las Vegas casino, he immediately admitted to his wrongdoing, self-reporting his ill antics to his Ravens coaches and owners, in addition to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
To me, the Ravens’ ownership sunk to a unbelievable low when they announced they would allow fans who owned Ray Rice jerseys a chance to exchange their No. 27 jerseys for another Ravens jersey of their choice. That was the ultimate turn-coat, fair-weather friend antic. And, the jersey debacle was staged in front of M&T Bank stadium, where the Ravens play their home games.
Even if Rice was wrong, one would still expect his franchise to stick behind him, and support him most when his chips were down. It’s easier to kick the man when he’s already down. However, Rice is the guy who had a stellar year in the 2012 season and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl victory in February 2013. During his six seasons with the Ravens, Rice averaged a very respectable 1,000 yards per season — specifically, he gained 6,180 yards between his rookie season in 2008 through 2013. Unfortunately, during his final season with the team, he gained just over 600 yards.
As we enter the second half of the 2015 season, Rice’s NFL career is apparently over, at a still-youthful age of 28, and the Ravens are facing the worst season in their nearly 20-year history. I call it Karma, in its worst form, coming back to bite the Ravens’ administrative butts – mainly for doing Ray Rice wrong. They should have stuck by his side, and given the man a chance to earn his job back – especially after he admitted his ill acts, and spoke out against domestic abuse.
In an exclusive interview with Baltimore Sun reporter Childs Walker earlier this year, Rice again, admitted his faults and apologized to his fan-base — especially his young fans. He admitted that “one poor decision” has landed him in his current ordeal. In that very same article, Rice’s wife took a more direct, less apologetic stance. She was critical of Ravens personnel for not supporting her husband. She said she “felt betrayed by the Ravens and others who had previously supported her husband.” Hey, the couple even named their beloved daughter “Rayven.” That displays the extreme love they had for the franchise.
So, here we are, as the team faces one of its first recent holiday seasons without being in a playoff/Super Bowl run, call it what you want. I simply call it Karma rearing its ugly head, just because the Ravens did not do their professional best – when it came to handling the Ray Rice debacle.
As my grandmama nem used to say “Down Home” in Georgia, God Don’t Like Ugly, and in this case, the Ravens were Ugly toward Raynell Maurice Rice – still the pride of New Rochelle, N.Y. and Rutgers University.
Although I certainly cannot condone Rice’s actions in his highly volatile domestic violence case, as a person old enough to serve as Rice’s parent, one has to consider all the familial sacrifices that Rice endured and overcame, in reaching his professional football rank. In this case, I truly believe that Rice deserves another chance at pursuing his craft and returning to another NFL franchise – perhaps with the Ravens?