[Locked last thread that got derailed due to intentional race bait. This topic is about domestic violence and athletes - not race.

Anyone found to be trying to derail and ruin this thread with race bait will be dealt with accordingly. You have been warned and you know who you are - luv4u]

Note: Please read my comments in their entirety since I want to address what may have been my role in the previously thread going in another direction (Ray Rice will be addressed shortly) and understand that there are no nefarious motives in what I am writing below. I am saddened that the other thread was locked but perhaps a fresh start is appropriate because tempers flared in the other thread. I must also note that a thread about racism was previously started and there was nothing that violated the rules in that post but it was locked and the original poster, without warning and with no explanation since then was banned from the site for two days. With that said, I have two questions. So, are we allowed to create a thread about race or not? Will there be punishment for anyone who discusses race in any other thread if they feel it's related to the issue at hand? I guess I am struggling with trying to get a clear definition of what race baiting is because we all see things through a different prism. If someone has a reputation for derailing threads, that's another issue altogether. Answers to the questions, rather than a punishment aimed at me to make an example out of me and of the sort would actually add credence to what I have just said would be appreciated. With that said, I move on to the original topic at hand and will not bring up race as the focal point of the discussion regarding Ray Rice because I didn't bring up race in the other thread until it was brought up by another person...

I notice a pattern that when certain people express certain opinions about certain issues, the thread becomes locked and/or the person is banned for a period of time. I would like to know what is allowed in this thread about Ray Rice, as opposed of being told what we cannot talk about. This is a multi-faceted issue regarding the oft-quoted academic triumvirate of r--, class, gender as well sexism and we could also include homophobia (one person who said they were gay said this domestic violence issue doesn't happen in the gay community as much but many have read statistics to the contrary? Who's right, who's wrong?) and shaming of those who seek help with mental health issues which can and likely do lead to domestic violence. Should a person be reprimanded for bringing up alcoholism when alcoholism is not the original topic at hand? Ray Rice is now blaming alcohol for his sins. Homophobia could be relevant in this discussion because the NFL now has an openly gay player that made the headlines around the same time that this scandal with Ray Rice was unfolding. The openly gay player is now on the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys because the political fallout with the first openly gay player not making an NFL team would be disastrous for the league when they are already facing multiple scandals of which Ray Rice, rightfully so, is at the forefront of the debate of the personal lives of these athletes. Since this scandal with Ray Rice broke a few players that I follow on Instagram have gone deafly quiet on their posts and this includes their posts with scantily clad "models".

Two different situations between openly gay Michael Sam and now banned Ray Rice but the tie that binds these two stories is that they are focused on the NFL. So, with that said, I go back to my original point that I believe the NFL manipulated the story to make it seem that they had punished Ray Rice for dragging his wife out of an elevator. But, they said from DAY ONE that the issue was regarding domestic violence and I bet I am not the only one that wondered why TMZ never uttered ONE WORD back in February regarding what happened INSIDE the elevator. Any journalist worth their salt wants to know what happened INSIDE the elevator for crying out loud. They (NFL) said was related to domestic violence this BEFORE the second video was released by TMZ several months later (which was this past Monday) I think there were some people who feared that Rice would be suspended and leaned on Goodell to make sure Rice didn't suffer a bigger penalty than what would be typical.

I also think another component to this scandal is sportsbetting. I saw an ad while I was watching the Ravens/Steelers game that said, "Joe Schmoe turned $31.00 into $40,000 from playing our game". It was a brazen ad for sports gambling being placed during a football game. I thought that was highly suspect. Ray Rice not being on the Ravens pretty much reduces the likelihood of them winning a Super Bowl. It's not impossible, as evidence at how they crushed the Steelers tonight but nonetheless.

I think women like Janay Rice are helpless in some ways and passive aggressive in other ways. She wants to control him the way he has controlled her but she will soon see that the balance of "power", if you will still remains with him because she's made the choice, subconsciouslly or consciouslly that she wants to stay with him regardless. That is tragic and I wonder if he is still being abusive towards her now but now she won't say anything or call the police or her family. The whole situation is messed up and is indicative of how this issue really hurts all of us, even if it's indirectly.

I stand by what I said in part 1 of this thread that Roger Goddell needs to either resign from his role as NFL commissioner OR be fired on a spot because that dude is nothing but a liar and a hypocrite. He knew the NFL already had a copy of the uncut video footage of what Ray Rice did inside the elevator and Goddell didn't give a damn about "doing the right thing" when he had the chance to do it over the summer.

a big dude smashed his girl and then dragged her around like she was a piece of shit

what a prick

TonyVanDam said:

That thread shouldn't have been closed. As always on the org moderators get nervous when people voice opinions about race. If that's the case you should have considered locking other threads when some expressed sexist opinions. Everyone here are big boys and girls, we can take political discourse however uncomfortable and ridiculous it is. Give me a break.

This is pure B.S.

Everyone has a right 2 how they see any topic.

U can't can't tell anyone what their perspective is on a given topic.

This is nonsense.

[Edited 9/12/14 6:18am]

phunkdaddy said:

TonyVanDam said:

I stand by what I said in part 1 of this thread that Roger Goddell needs to either resign from his role as NFL commissioner OR be fired on a spot because that dude is nothing but a liar and a hypocrite. He knew the NFL already had a copy of the uncut video footage of what Ray Rice did inside the elevator and Goddell didn't give a damn about "doing the right thing" when he had the chance to do it over the summer.

You mean the same guy that destroyed the New England spygate tapes because he knew their were more incriminating evidence? Nah

Oh I remember THAT crap too.

TD3 said:

That thread shouldn't have been closed. As always on the org moderators get nervous when people voice opinions about race. If that's the case you should have considered locking other threads when some expressed sexist opinions. Everyone here are big boys and girls, we can take political discourse however uncomfortable and ridiculous it is. Give me a break.

I thought the thread was awesome.

Ray Rice's future is probably easily foreseeable. As heinous and pussified as his actions were, the collective bargaining agreement between the union and the players tilts to his favor. I don't believe the NFL has actually even given the union official notification of Rice's indefinite suspension. I'm pretty sure the union will have to defend Rice, as repulsive as that will be to them. Keep in mind - ALL of his Ravens teammates are reported to have abandoned him. It's safe to say that most NFL players, and therefore most NFL union reps, would prefer to have nothing to do with Rice. But, he is a member of their union and they will ultimately have to try and protect his interests.

Running backs are pretty much a dime a dozen these days. It's rare to see a running back drafted in the first round (Rice was a second round pick). So while Rice has talent, so do a lot of others. And the shelf life of an NFL running back is usually around 3 - 5 years . Rice is 27 but will be 28 just before the season ends. He was hurt for much of last year and only averaged 3.1 yards/carry. I predict he'll get picked up this year by someone for the NFL minimum salary, which for him will be $730,000 (pro rated for however many games he's signed for). He'll probably hang around a couple more years, which means he will earn at a minimum $1,500,000.

So the likelihood is that Ray Rice will earn at least $2,000,000 in the next three years, and maybe more if he's at all productive.

The story from this point on is - will Roger Goodell survive as NFL commissioner? Already people like Keith Olbermann and the National Organization for Women's president Terry O'Neill are calling for Goodell to resign. It seems very likely that we will find out that not only was the full Rice video viewed by the NFL offices, but that it was probably viewed by top executives, or people that had an obligation to report on it to top executives.

The NFL has worked very hard the last five years to increase its female fanbase. They have already taken a tough hit (no pun intended). But it seems like right now, they are only doing things to make it worse.

Right or wrong, probably the best thing for the NFL - if keeping its female fanbase means anything - is for Goodell to take the bullet and resign. That's just my opinion.

Malcolm X said, When you use the definitions of people justifying your abuse or subjugation, all you are doing is having a dog chasing his tail conversation.

Any type of violence: Beating, chocking, hitting, pushing, pinning down, rape, slapping, spiting, and threaten anyone is an assault. Just because a man and a woman are in an emotional and/or sexual relationship shouldn't be a defining factor for treating violent assaults any differently. It shouldn’t make a difference whether physical assaults occur in a car, at home, in public, between friends, family, lovers, married couples, and/or strangers. The only mitigating circumstances that should be considered is the classification of a criminal offense.

The first thing was asked when some saw the Ray Rice tape was, what did she do? This leads me to believe that many of the men on this board share Stephen A. Smith's mind-set… if a woman gets on your nerves or in your face, its within bounds to knock the shit our of her. It’s her fault her man had to go off. All of you Black men on this board; when white folks in this US beat you an inch of your lives, torture, or kill you... They question is always asked. What did you do? When black people are assaulted by the police… the first thing is asked what did we do? What did you do to get yourself beaten, killed or tortured? Why is this? Because black people are equated with being criminals… being naturally violent. Doesn’t make any difference if you are unarmed… walking in the middle of a street, walking home from a store, standing on the side of the road because your car broke down, or driving on the LA 10 erratically.

This is why the classification, the definition of domestic violence must be changed. The word domestic violence, dilutes the serious of the charge, it makes it seems as if this is a private matter. Who gets to define what and why? The Supreme Court ruling 52 years ago, deemed that a married men couldn’t rape their wives: Forced sexual intercourse could only be called rape if the woman wasn’t a man’s wife. Who defined rape as such? Are we saying once a woman is in a relationship here rights under the law or somehow circumvented?

When does hitting someone not become a private issue, when someone is killed?
 It's amazing to me how similar the mind-set of racist people, shadows the same mind-set of sexists men.

====================================

[Edited 9/12/14 7:52am]

TD3 said:

That thread shouldn't have been closed. As always on the org moderators get nervous when people voice opinions about race. If that's the case you should have considered locking other threads when some expressed sexist opinions. Everyone here are big boys and girls, we can take political discourse however uncomfortable and ridiculous it is. Give me a break.

Moderators have final say.
prince.org administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit, relocate and/or remove any message, at any time, for any reason. Consider all editing decisions final. If you don't agree with a decision, you may discuss it with the moderator who made the judgment in private. If you cannot reach resolution with the Moderator in private, contact the site administrator via e-mail (ben@prince.org), explaining the entire situation, with all relevant links/excerpts/emails, etc. Under no circumstance attempt to start a 'debate' about specific moderation decisions in a public forum.

OldFriends4Sale said:

TD3 said:

That thread shouldn't have been closed. As always on the org moderators get nervous when people voice opinions about race. If that's the case you should have considered locking other threads when some expressed sexist opinions. Everyone here are big boys and girls, we can take political discourse however uncomfortable and ridiculous it is. Give me a break.

Moderators have final say.
prince.org administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit, relocate and/or remove any message, at any time, for any reason. Consider all editing decisions final. If you don't agree with a decision, you may discuss it with the moderator who made the judgment in private. If you cannot reach resolution with the Moderator in private, contact the site administrator via e-mail (ben@prince.org), explaining the entire situation, with all relevant links/excerpts/emails, etc. Under no circumstance attempt to start a 'debate' about specific moderation decisions in a public forum.

Now let's move on ..........

OldFriends4Sale said:

TD3 said:

That thread shouldn't have been closed. As always on the org moderators get nervous when people voice opinions about race. If that's the case you should have considered locking other threads when some expressed sexist opinions. Everyone here are big boys and girls, we can take political discourse however uncomfortable and ridiculous it is. Give me a break.

Moderators have final say.
prince.org administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit, relocate and/or remove any message, at any time, for any reason. Consider all editing decisions final. If you don't agree with a decision, you may discuss it with the moderator who made the judgment in private. If you cannot reach resolution with the Moderator in private, contact the site administrator via e-mail (ben@prince.org), explaining the entire situation, with all relevant links/excerpts/emails, etc. Under no circumstance attempt to start a 'debate' about specific moderation decisions in a public forum.

I'm aware that moderaters have the final say... is this breaking new? I find the lock on threads are abritraley enforced.

TD3 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Moderators have final say.
prince.org administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit, relocate and/or remove any message, at any time, for any reason. Consider all editing decisions final. If you don't agree with a decision, you may discuss it with the moderator who made the judgment in private. If you cannot reach resolution with the Moderator in private, contact the site administrator via e-mail (ben@prince.org), explaining the entire situation, with all relevant links/excerpts/emails, etc. Under no circumstance attempt to start a 'debate' about specific moderation decisions in a public forum.

I'm aware that moderaters have the final say... is this breaking new? I find the lock on threads are abritraley enforced.

They certainly are.

Our friend who was beaten up by her husband last week just came to work. I cannot believe the bruises and scars on her face - and this is after a week's healing. I want to cry.

I hope Ray Rice never sees a football field again.

TonyVanDam said:

I stand by what I said in part 1 of this thread that Roger Goddell needs to either resign from his role as NFL commissioner OR be fired on a spot because that dude is nothing but a liar and a hypocrite. He knew the NFL already had a copy of the uncut video footage of what Ray Rice did inside the elevator and Goddell didn't give a damn about "doing the right thing" when he had the chance to do it over the summer.

Agreed, I think he saw the whole thing from start to finish and I'm sure Rice mentioned the punch to him at some point. But, there are still fans, including female fans, of Rice. Check this out:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2195763-baltimore-ravens-fans-wear-ray-rice-jerseys-to-game-vs-steelers?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&hpt=hp_t2

phunkdaddy said:

TonyVanDam said:

I stand by what I said in part 1 of this thread that Roger Goddell needs to either resign from his role as NFL commissioner OR be fired on a spot because that dude is nothing but a liar and a hypocrite. He knew the NFL already had a copy of the uncut video footage of what Ray Rice did inside the elevator and Goddell didn't give a damn about "doing the right thing" when he had the chance to do it over the summer.

You mean the same guy that destroyed the New England spygate tapes because he knew their were more incriminating evidence? Nah

Spygate? Is this the same situation as the other scandals where players were targeting others to injure? Please dish

TD3 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Moderators have final say.
prince.org administrators and moderators reserve the right to edit, relocate and/or remove any message, at any time, for any reason. Consider all editing decisions final. If you don't agree with a decision, you may discuss it with the moderator who made the judgment in private. If you cannot reach resolution with the Moderator in private, contact the site administrator via e-mail (ben@prince.org), explaining the entire situation, with all relevant links/excerpts/emails, etc. Under no circumstance attempt to start a 'debate' about specific moderation decisions in a public forum.

I'm aware that moderaters have the final say... is this breaking new? I find the lock on threads are abritraley enforced.

If you are aware then why did you post your comment?

I think this thread is done Luv4U

Beautifulstarr123 said:

I'm curious. Why does MJ threads get locked down, but there are at least four different threads on Ray Rice?

And now they are threatening to shut this thread down as well. Why? What's the point of creating a new thread just to shut down another thread and blame it on the ones posting on here?

Graycap23 said:

This is pure B.S.

Everyone has a right 2 how they see any topic.

U can't can't tell anyone what their perspective is on a given topic.

This is nonsense.

[Edited 9/12/14 6:18am]

Orgnote.

SeventeenDayze said:

Beautifulstarr123 said:

I'm curious. Why does MJ threads get locked down, but there are at least four different threads on Ray Rice?

And now they are threatening to shut this thread down as well. Why? What's the point of creating a new thread just to shut down another thread and blame it on the ones posting on here?

If people will just stay on topic, this is free for all thread lol

OldFriends4Sale said:

SeventeenDayze said:

And now they are threatening to shut this thread down as well. Why? What's the point of creating a new thread just to shut down another thread and blame it on the ones posting on here?

If people will just stay on topic, this is free for all thread lol

There are 360 degrees 2 any topic. Not just the ones u approve of.

Graycap23 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

If people will just stay on topic, this is free for all thread lol

There are 360 degrees 2 any topic. Not just the ones u approve of.

and the more this continues the more likely the mods will remove the thread

2 mods have already said this is not the place to bitch and bemoan the issues

[Edited 9/12/14 12:25pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

Graycap23 said:

There are 360 degrees 2 any topic. Not just the ones u approve of.

and the more this continues the more likely the mods will remove the thread

2 mods have already said this is not the place to bitch and bemoan the issues

[Edited 9/12/14 12:25pm]

Where would be the place?

I've asked in a private note what the "race baiting" was related to.

I got no answer.

Graycap23 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

and the more this continues the more likely the mods will remove the thread

2 mods have already said this is not the place to bitch and bemoan the issues

[Edited 9/12/14 12:25pm]

Where would be the place?

I've asked in a private note what the "race baiting" was related to.

I got no answer.

Looks like the definition of race baiting, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary of all places, is the following:

<Redirecting this post to the P&R thread>.

[Edited 9/13/14 11:23am]