The latest development in the Ray Rice case with the NFL has the former Baltimore Ravens running back appealing his indefinite suspension and for the Carolina Panthers and Greg Hardy, Pro Football Talk reports that the league could intervene and suspend him based on the personal conduct policy.
ESPN.com reported that Rice will be appealing his suspension and while the NFLPA has not finalized the basis of that appeal, it likely will have to do with the CBA. According to Pro Football Talk, the CBA does not allow punishment to come down twice for the same offense and Rice likely will argue that he was hit with an indefinite suspension only because of the PR backlash of the video being released and not his initial act. The NFL likely will argue that Rice was untruthful to them about what happened, but that poses other problems for the league.
The NFL had the chance to find out what happened in that elevator from many sources, including reporters and the actual police report, so he likely will say they knew what actually happened. Either way, Rice actually has a legitimate beef if he was truthful with the league and now his appeal will come and that will take time for full resolution.
"We are expecting to appeal before the deadline on Tuesday night," NFL Players Association spokesman George Atallah told the Associated Press.
Pro Football Talk reports that the NFL may look to suspend Hardy without pay for violating the personal-conduct policy, which was reported by league sources. Hardy played in Week 1 and was deactivated for Week 2 before the game for the Panthers, as he too is facing domestic violence issues. Hardy was convicted by a judge, but in North Carolina he had the right to appeal to a jury trial.
The Panthers have continued to claim due process and the league may look at suspending him now after the backlash against Rice and the NFL.
