The NFL may not have to suspend Ray Rice. The justice system may keep Rice out of football - and society - for three to five years.
Multiple media outlets reported Thursday that Rice, the Baltimore Ravens star running back, was charged with aggravated assault in a Feb. 15 incident in which he is accused of knocking his fiancée, Janay Palmer, unconscious in an Atlantic City casino elevator.
The charge is more serious than the original charge of simple assault against Rice for striking Palmer.
The Baltimore Sun reported that the current charge of aggravated assault, which is a felony, carries a potential sentence of three to five years in prison.
Meanwhile, prosecutors decided to drop the simple assault charge levied against Palmer.
Rice's lawyer, Michael Diamondstein, told USA TODAY Sports his client is innocent.
"On behalf of Ray Rice, we vehemently deny he committed aggravated assault," Diamondstein said in a phone interview. "We think the matter of the charges involved will not be substantiated. Ray and Janay Palmer are together. They're in counseling and happy. Neither wish to see the other prosecuted. For some reason the State of New Jersey prosecuted. As always, we only hope the public reserves judgment until the facts are brought to light."
Legal analyst Andrew Levy, who is an impartial observer, uttered a similar sentiment to Baltimore.cbslocal.com.
"As difficult as it can be in a situation like this, it's really important to reserve judgment until all the facts are in," he said.
Levy says the video may not tell the whole story.
"We've only seen what is apparently a small portion of what occurred that evening," he said.
Lawyers say the darndest things.
After TMZ's shocking video of Rice dragging what appeared to be an unconscious Palmer out of an elevator at the Revel Casino, a plausible explanation is almost impossible, and if one existed, it would have come out by now.
Another attorney not involved in the case, Joseph A. Levin, a criminal defense expert based in Atlantic City, told the Sun that the new charge is appropriate, given the allegations.
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