The NFL is currently on the first legs of its eight-month hiatus but that hasn’t stopped some of its players from already making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
This year, the honor of being the first player to get arrested in the offseason falls on the shoulders of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who, together with his fiancé, was arrested over the weekend after a fight at Revel Casino in Atlantic City.
According to a statement from the Atlantic City Police Department, casino security called officers to the Revel Casino at about 2:50 a.m. early Saturday for an apparent domestic spat between Rice and his lady that was caught on surveillance video.
The altercation eventually subsided and both Rice and Palmer did not report any injuries sustained, nor asked for any sort of medical attention. That being said, both have been charged with simple assault-domestic violence and have since been released on a summons to appear in court.
“The complaint summons indicates that both Rice and Palmer struck each other with their hands,” the statement said, as quoted by the Baltimore Sun.
Rice’s attorney, Andrew Alperstein, downplayed the incident, chalking it up to a “very minor physical altercation” between the two. Still and all, anytime you have the words “physical altercation” attached with a lady, you better believe you’re going to get excoriated for it.
Michael Diamondstein, a Philadelphia-based attorney that was likewise hired to represent Rice told the Sun that the incident at Revel between Rice and his fiancé will likely end up as a simple misunderstanding that should be settled without so much a hit on Rice’s otherwise impeccable reputation.
Meanwhile, another football player, albeit a retired one, has settled a federal lawsuit regarding his claims of having been fired from his job because of his race. The issue is apparently dead for former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Mike Merriweather and The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, both of whom declined to make any comments regarding the terms contained in the settlement. All’s well that end’s well, apparently.
