The appeal of Ray Rice’s suspension from the NFL is set to take place November 5 and 6, at which point the decision could be made to reinstate Rice immediately.
But according to this report by Mike Florio over at Pro Football Talk, Rice has filed a grievance against the Baltimore Ravens for terminating his contract.
Per multiple sources, Rice has filed a grievance against the Ravens challenging the team’s decision to terminate his contract on September 8. The Ravens cut Rice within hours after the video emerged of Rice striking his then-fiancée (now wife) in the head in an Atlantic City elevator.
This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to those of you who have followed the case closely. Rice has an argument under the collective bargaining agreement, which indicates that a player can be suspended just once for an off-field infraction. Rice was originally suspended just two games for domestic violence against his now wife Janay Rice. Once the league saw the video of the incident, it then decided to suspend Rice indefinitely.
The argument that the NFL and Ravens plan to use here is that they were privy to new information when TMZ released the video of Rice hitting his then fiancee.
No matter where you stand on this situation, Rice does have some reason to be confident in the process.
If successful, Rice will receive the $3.5 million in salary he has lost between what would have been a Week 3 return under the original suspension and his potential reinstatement.
Photo: USA Today