Ravens honor of Ray Rice; reader react | READER COMMENTARIES

Ray Rice might deserve forgiveness, but not honoring

Ray Rice appears to be a good, decent person who made a terrible, alcoholic-induced mistake (“Former Ravens RB Ray Rice to be ‘Legend of the Game’ nearly 10 years after domestic violence incident,” Dec. 30).  He only played six years and was above average, but certainly not a superstar.  He seemed to be sincerely apologetic and regretful, so probably deserves forgiveness and a second chance. He has paid the ultimate penalty by having his career ended along with the associated financial losses. But being honored? Come on now!

— Don Colburn, Havre de Grace

Ray Rice has paid his dues

We don’t have to forget, but we really should forgive Ray Rice for disappointing us (“Ray Rice shouldn’t be placed on a pedestal by Ravens,” Jan. 2). It’s so disturbing to me that people only want to accentuate the negative and totally ignore the positive qualities of an individual.  Even to the point of negating the person’s life accomplishments.

Ray Rice was a Baltimore Raven with a brilliant future ahead of him.  He made a mistake, a horrific mistake, that cost him his career and changed the path of his future.  Why are we so quick to place judgment on him for eternity when his then-girlfriend, now his wife, was able to find forgiveness in her heart?  Those with celebrity status are always under the magnifying glass.  Whatever happened to people who make mistakes should be given a second chance? If they put in the time and hard work to make themselves a better person, shouldn’t they?

Ray made the effort to make positive changes in his life.  He’s paid his dues, he owes us nothing.  As a Raven, he excelled at his position, and gave us his all.  For that reason, as a faithful Ravens fan, I thank him for his accomplishments as a Baltimore Raven and for growing to be the man God expected him to be.

— Deb Price, Ellicott City

Instead of being honored, Rice should join Ravens ‘Ring of Dishonor’

This looks like another routine instance of the Baltimore Ravens’ distorted sense of what constitutes “honor” to them (“Ray Rice is not a legend,” Jan. 2). The Ravens have two current members of their “Ring of Honor” who were convicted of serious crimes while in the Ravens’ employ. Jamal Lewis was convicted of cocaine trafficking, a federal felony that could have drawn him 10 years in federal prison, instead of the four months he was sentenced to in the offseason. Ray Lewis was convicted of obstruction of justice in a murder trial where he was the star witness, allowing somebody to get away with murder. He got one year of probation.

Now, the Ravens are going to honor Ray Rice. They are going to honor him for what?  For his being the “tough guy from Philly” who battered his then-fiancee on camera? The Ravens “honored” Rice in 2014 by releasing him from their team in his prime years as a player. No other NFL team would touch him, effectively ending his career.  He gave the Ravens a PR black eye on that elevator that probably surpassed the black eye he gave to his fiancee.

Yes, all three players were standouts on the field, but that is only one piece of their lives. The Ravens are now back to speaking of Ray Rice as an icon 10 years after they shunned him along with the remainder of the NFL.  Are they going to place Rice along with Ray Lewis and Jamal Lewis in their “Ring of Dishonor”?  What Ray Rice did on that elevator was brutal, but it paled in comparison to what the Lewis duo did. Jamal facilitated drug trafficking, which contributes to today’s astonishing death totals.  Ray gave a murderer a free pass by refusing to testify.  He kept the “the no-snitching” mantra alive.  He is footloose and fancy free making millions as an NFL Analyst.

Like I said, this Rice situation would be another routine occurrence of the Baltimore Ravens’ distorted sense of honor.  This reeks of another orchestrated PR move, plain and simple. What business fires somebody and then 10 years later brings them back to honor them?  Do tell!

Honor is defined as one’s doing things the right way for the right reasons, regardless of the outcome of the deed, and its impact on the doer.  I’m sure that you got dozens of negative feedback emails on this topic.

Ugh!

— George Hammerbacher, Baltimore