Michael Gaynor
Will Ray and/or Janay Rice sue the NFL?
FacebookTwitter
By Michael Gaynor
September 11, 2014

The issue is whether the NFL is entitled to add additional punishment to its sentences to players whenever it is moved to do so.

I'm not a fan of former Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice and don't have any personal interest in whether he ever returns to play in the NFL.

That said, I wonder whether the NFL compounded its problems by meting out additional punishment to Ray Rice and even the threat of a lawsuit by the Rices may pave the way for his return.

The NFL created a huge potential problem for itself by failing to investigate the incident properly and handing down a sentence based on incomplete information.

The Rices married after both the incident and the sentence.

Double jeopardy prohibits a defendant from being tried again on the same or similar charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction.

Double jeopardy is un-American.

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: ":[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb . . .."

What the NFL has done was to give Ray Rice a much lighter sentence than he deserved, without obtaining the video of the incident, and. after the video became public, tried to correct its mistake by indefinitely suspending him.

The NFL's huge embarrassment is readily understandable.

The NFL is not the United States Government, so it's not bound by the Fifth Amendment prohibition against double jeopardy.

But in meting out additional punishment to Ray Rice on the basis of newly discovered evidence that it should have discovered before meting out its original punishment to Rice, it has done what the double jeopardy prohibition bars the United States Government from doing and doing so damaged not only Ray Rice, but his wife, Janay.

If the Rices sue the NFL, claiming it had a duty akin to double jeopardy and that claim is not dismissed as a matter of law, then a major subject of discovery in the case would be the NFL investigation itself.

Did the NFL have a duty to conduct a thorough investigation before sentencing Ray Rice to a two-game suspension?

Did the NFL have a right to add additional punishment to Ray Rice's sentence after the video surfaced?

Is the NFL liable to Ray Rice for damages resulting from the additional punishment it imposed?

Is the NFL liable to Janay Rice for damages resulting from the additional punishment it imposed?

The issue is NOT whether the NFL can punish spousal abuse by suspending a player or whether Ray Rice committed spousal abuse.

The issue is whether the NFL is entitled to add additional punishment to its sentences to players whenever it is moved to do so.

© Michael Gaynor

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)

Click to enlarge

Michael Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member... (more)

Subscribe

Receive future articles by Michael Gaynor: Click here

More by this author

June 18, 2024
Who Will Make the Finals and Win the Upcoming Presidential Race?


August 7, 2023
Elections can be 'stolen' in many ways, and the 2020 U.S. presidential election is a 'perfect' example


April 11, 2023
'Politics ain't beanbag,' but investigation and prosecution of Donald Trump by rabid partisans must stop


January 16, 2023
Perhaps learning why the Pearl Harbor attack was a surprise in Hawaii but not in Washington can help us appreciate and learn from other federal government mistakes and move forward wisely


November 4, 2022
Free True the Vote's Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips


October 3, 2022
Who Sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines?


August 13, 2022
Mar-a-Lago raid shows Trump derangement syndrome has fortuitously worsened


July 5, 2022
From the Warren Court to Roberts Court to Thomas Court


May 21, 2022
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been barred from receiving Holy Communion at last


November 19, 2021
Justice ultimately prevailed in the Kyle Rittenhouse case


More articles

 

Stephen Stone
HAPPY EASTER: A message to all who love our country and want to help save it

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
FLASHBACK to 2020: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Victor Sharpe
Any Israeli alliances should include the restoration of a just, moral, and enduring pact with the Kurdish people

Linda Kimball
Man as God: The primordial heresy and the evolutionary science of becoming God

Sylvia Thompson
Should the Village People be a part of Trump's Inauguration Ceremony? No—but I suspect they will be

Jerry Newcombe
Reflections on the Good Samaritan ethic

Pete Riehm
It’s not identities; it’s ideas!

Rev. Mark H. Creech
From ministry to need: Seeking help in my darkest hour

Jerry Newcombe
Bible sales increasing

Tom DeWeese
Change the debate and take back liberty locally

Steve A. Stone
Truth will out...maybe...someday

Curtis Dahlgren
On the need for noble mothers (and fathers)

Tom DeWeese
If you are illegal, come. We’ll give you $thousands and let you kill and rape. If you are legal, go to hell

Stanley Zir
The sky is not falling, Chicken Little, under Donald Trump
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites