In one of the strangest turnarounds in the balance of power, it is now Roger Goodell who has reason to fear Ray Rice.
USA TODAY Sports reported that the embattled NFL commissioner now could be the one on trial during the Rice appeal of his indefinite suspension.
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Goodell has to choose between two seemingly unfavorable alternatives:
Make a deal with Rice and reduce the running back's penalty for punching his then-fiancée in February, which would mark his third decision in the matter and damage his credibility in the light of Rice detractors.
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Or take the witness stand in an independent arbitrator's hearing on Rice's appeal, where Goodell risks having inconsistencies arise in his version of events related to Rice's very public domestic violence incident.
Sports labor attorney Jeffrey Kessler, USA TODAY Sports reported, has made it his mission to minimize power of professional sports' governing bodies and entities in favor of the sports' respective players. He would be the one to question Goodell.
"He'll try to go after Goodell on the question of what did Goodell know and when did he know it?" said Daniel Lazaroff, director of the Loyola Sports Law Institute in Los Angeles, to USA TODAY Sports. "Did he have all the facts initially when he handed down the two-game suspension or not know until later? Goodell will be testifying under oath. They will try to trip him up and catch him in some inconsistencies."
Goodell seemingly has quieted talk of his ouster that rose when the second video or Rice actually striking Janay Palmer, who is now his wife, surfaced in September.
If Goodell is found to have lied about what he knew about Rice's case - especially in regards to the second video - his job could be in jeopardy again.
And if Goodell reinstates Rice, he'll likely face a backlash from the same groups that denounced his original two-week suspension for Rice's transgressions.
Unfortunately for those groups, that option appears to be the lesser of two evils if inconsistencies in Goodell's testimony are proven.
Do you think Roger Goodell will reinstate Ray Rice before he has to take the witness stand? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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