Report: Ray Rice files grievance against Ravens over termination
Ray Rice has filed a grievance against the Baltimore Ravens challenging their decision to terminate his contract on Sept. 8, reports Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.
The Ravens cut Rice just hours after video emerged showing him punching his then-fiancée in an Atlantic City casino elevator. Rice had previously been suspended for two games by the NFL after being charged with third-degree aggravated assault in March. The NFL suspended him indefinitely following release of the video in September.
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According to PFT, Rice is arguing that the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement only allows one punishment for an infraction. If he wins both grievances, Rice would be eligible to receive $3.52 million from Baltimore, which was what he stood to make if he had been reinstated in Week 3 after the two-game suspension.
Rice is already appealing the NFL's suspension and reportedly has a hearing set for Nov. 5 and 6. If his appeal is successful, he would be reinstated, and would be free to sign with a new team. The Ravens have already said he will not return to them.
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Former U.S. district judge Barbara S. Jones is hearing Rice's appeal as a neutral, third-party arbitrator.
CBSSports' Jason La Canfora has said that several legal experts told him Rice has "an exceedingly strong case."
Former FBI director Robert Mueller III is currently leading an independent investigation into the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell's handling of the Rice case.
- Molly Geary
