• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's 'Soul Searching' Has Lead Him to Decide That He'll Never Resign

    It has been a really bad season for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell who has had to deal with one scandal after another since last September. There have been various domestic violence cases within the league, Adrian Peterson was accused of abusing his young son and then there was the Ray Rice scandal that has yet to fully go away. While Goodell has insisted that he never say the surveillance footage of Rice knocking his wife out cold, until the whole world saw it on TMZ, not many seem to believe him. Then came deflategate, a situation that has yet to be resolved even though the Super Bowl is just hours away.
  • 'Time's' Short List for 'Person of the Year' Raising Eyebrows

    On Wednesday, Dec. 10, "Time" magazine will announce its 2014 Person of the Year, and after learning who landed on the short list of candidates, we are more than a little confused. Some of the names on the list are not too shocking. There is Tim Cook, who introduced a bunch of new Apple products this year and then decided to come out of the closet, making him the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company. There is Taylor Swift, who, as a top-selling artist, decided to pull her music from Spotify this past fall because she believes the streaming service is not compensating artists nearly enough. But some of the other contenders are a bit baffling. Like Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who guided his country through hosting the Sochi Olympics in February under subpar conditions. He has also been one of the ringleaders in the ongoing strife between Russia and eastern Ukraine. Then there is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has spent the last six months living under a microscope because it seems the majority of even NFL fans believe he purposely set out to cover up several domestic violence cases within the league, including the now-infamous knockout punch by Ray Rice that was caught on surveillance tape and then shown to the world. The Ferguson protesters have also made the list, but wouldn't it have made more sense for the peaceful protesters in New York City's chokehold case to have made it instead? By pointing to Ferguson, sadly the first thing that comes to mind for many people is either the rioting and destruction of local businesses after Darren Wilson was not indicted, or else the video of Michael Brown's grieving and angry stepfather directing the crowd to burn things down.
  • Janay Rice's 'Today' Interview Insinuates NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Repeatedly Lied

    After six months of silence, Janay Palmer Rice finally had a chance to sit down and address everything that has happened since Ray Rice knocked her out cold in an Atlantic City elevator earlier this year. Instead of splitting from Rice, she instead married him and has decided to support him, even once that surveillance tape went viral in September. Janay agreed to an interview with "Today's" Matt Lauer, in the hopes that people might understand how this one horrific instance of domestic violence does not define what her marriage is really like. Janay repeatedly called Rice's actions "a mistake" and reminded viewers at home that no one is perfect. She also insisted that, aside from this one incident, Rice has never been the least bit violent with her at all. She expressed serious upset at how the Baltimore Ravens organization treated them once it released Rice from his contract and believes that eventually he will be allowed to prove himself again in the NFL. Lauer also asked about what Rice told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell when the incident first happened. Goodell has claimed that he never saw the tape until it went viral last September and that he had no idea how violent the altercation actually was. Janay balked at the notion that Rice might have minimized the attack, telling Lauer: "No. Not in any way. And, you know, I feel like if they wanted to know more details then they would have asked. But there were no further questions. It — it's been consistent with everything that he's been saying since February. I can't say he's telling the truth. You know? I know for a fact that he told — that Ray told the honest truth that he's been telling from February. So — I think they did what they had to do for themselves."
  • Ray Rice's Suspension from NFL Lifted as 'Today' Prepares to Air Interview with Janay Palmer Rice Next Week

    Ray Rice finally won the war to preserve his career on Friday, and his suspension from the NFL has been lifted, effective immediately. That means that if Rice can find a team willing to sign his this late in the season he may actually get some play time in before the next Super Bowl. Back in early September an elevator surveillance video was released that showed Rice knocking his now-wife, Janay Palmer, out cold with one punch, then dragging her off the elevator. He was handed an indefinite suspension after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seemed to barely offer up a slap on the wrist last spring.
  • Janay Palmer Tries Downplaying Being Knocked Out by Ray Rice in Matt Lauer Interview

    Janay Palmer has spent the last few months basically hiding out, not allowing the general public to have much more than a slight glimpse into her personal life, and who can blame her? After that now-infamous elevator surveillance video went public, showing her now-husband Ray Rice knocking her out with one punch, it was a real turning point in her life. Palmer chose quite quickly to stand by her husband and support him, even going so far as to lambaste the NFL for punishing Rice for his violent actions. It was pretty clear Palmer was taking the "stand by your man" approach to the whole scandal and, in doing so, she kept her silence for the most part. At least until NBC's "Today" managed to grab the first official interview with her. Make no mistake, it is actually Rice that NBC wants to hear from, and while he never signed on the dotted line with the network, he was there when Matt Lauer sat down with Palmer in the couple's Maryland home late last week. How much he actually said is still unknown, but Lauer appeared happy with the outcome of the chat.
  • NFL May Have to Reinstate Ray Rice in November after Final Appeal Hearing

    It looks like Ray Rice could be back in NFL action within just a few short weeks. Rice was suspended indefinitely at the start of the current season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after that now-infamous elevator security tape was released showing Rice knocking out Janay Palmer with one punch. The general public was outraged to learn Rice was originally punished with just a two-game suspension and Goodell had to act quickly to try and save face, so he threw the proverbial book at Rice. A final appeal hearing is scheduled for mid-November, and it could easily swing in Rice's favor.
  • Minnesota Vikings Adrian Peterson Admits To Smoking Marijuana Before Drug Test, Arrest Expected

    As if Adrian Peterson hadn't already been disgraced enough thanks to child abuse charges hanging over his head, the Minnesota Vikings running back admitted before a drug test on Wednesday that he recently smoked a little bit of weed. The NFL player is currently free on $15,000 bond and after failing the test he is fully expected to be re-arrested on a drug charge. Peterson originally appeared in a Texas court this week but wasn't required to enter a plea in his child abuse case, something that came as a surprise.
  • The NFL Allegedly Dragged Out, Bungled Their Investigation of Brett Favre Years Ago To Make League Look Better

    Thanks in great part to the Ray Rice scandal the NFL has found itself under fire since the very start of the current season. There have been calls from anti-violence groups for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to step down as the organization scrambles to save face and put the brakes on the kind of scandal that could easily cost several suits their jobs. At the root of the situation is whether or not NFL higher-ups saw that now-infamous elevator video and chose to ignore it and give Rice a slap on the wrist so that he could continue playing.
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