Ray Rice and his wife Janay are making the media rounds after the former Ravens running back won an appeal, and immediate reinstatement to the NFL, after having a two-game suspension changed to indefinite. Rice was initially suspended following leaked video of him dragging his unconscious then-fiancee out of an Atlantic City elevator.
Later on, video from inside the elevator of Rice striking Janay and knocking her out surfaced. The NFL stated Rice had been misleading in initial meetings, suspended him indefinitely, and then he was cut by the Ravens. Now, he's a free agent and can sign with any team.
The issue raised the issue of domestic violence, and overall conduct of NFL players into a harsh spotlight. But was this scandal the worst Roger Goodell has faced?
7. Spy Gate
In 2007, just a year after Goodell became NFL commissioner, he was forced to deal with a messy situation involving one of the league's premier franchises. The New England Patriots were caught recording defensive signals of the rival New York Jets.
The discovery raised questions about how long the Patriots had been engaging in that type of activity, and Goodell reacted harshly. He fined Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the organization $250,000 and stripped them of their 2008 first round pick.
New England's continued to succeed even after the Spy Gate fiasco, but the stain will linger on Belichick's legacy.
6. Bounty Gate
In 2012 the New Orleans Saints, another premier franchise, was outed for having a "bounty system" in place headed by then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Saints defenders were rewarded for knocking opposing players out of games, reportedly targeting Brett Favre, then a Minnesota Viking, in the playoffs.
Goodell came down harder on New Orleans than he did on the Pats. Williams was suspended indefinitely, head coach Sean Payton was banned for the whole 2012 season, general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for eight games and assistant coach Joe Vitt for four.
Several players were suspended as well; linebacker Jonathan Vilma was seen as a ringleader of the program, offering $10,000 in the infamous Vikings game for anybody who knocked out Favre. Vilma was suspended for the whole 2012 season, but took legal action against Goodell in the form of a slander lawsuit.
Vilma's suspension was eventually overturned.
5. Adrian Peterson Child Abuse
Peterson's incident came on the heels of the Ray Rice fiasco, as well as several other domestic violence stories. While Peterson didn't hit a woman, photos were released of severe marks on his young son from being disciplined with a switch.
Peterson immediately owned up to hitting his son, but the photos as well as damning text messages to the baby's mother about what he did were a public relations nightmare. Peterson avoided jail time, but pleaded guilty to reckless assault.
The indecision on the part of both the Vikings and NFL made the matter worse. He was initially deactivated for one game, then suspended indefinitely by the league following an appeals process. The length of the suspension was harsh largely because Goodell deemed Peterson showed a "lack of remorse" throughout the process.
4. Replacement Referees
This fiasco culminated in a 2012 Monday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, which will be remembered forever as the "Fail Mary" game. Replacement officials were being used while the real refs were on strike. The NFL didn't want to meet their demands, but had been drawing criticism for poorly officiated games.
The Fail Mary game sparked an agreement between the referees and NFL, but was viewed as a defeat for Goodell. In that game the Seahawks won on a Hail Mary pass that was hauled in by Golden Tate. Referees missed a blatant offensive pass interference call that directly affected the play. It was also highly questionable wheter Tate even had control of the ball when he and a defender were wrestling with it to the turf.
3. Aaron Hernandez Murder Cases
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested in 2013 in connection with the murder of a 27-year-old semipro football player named Odin Lloyd, and later was charged as his killer.
In addition, Hernandez has been charged with a double-murder in Boston in 2012, in which he's also accused of being the triggerman. The troubled player was one of football's rising stars, but also entered the league with a checkered past dating back to his time in college with the Florida Gators.
While the league struggles with player conduct issues, Hernandez became arguably the most notorious criminal since Rae Carruth was arrested for the shooting of his then-pregnant girlfriend and killing her.
In 2012 a lesser-known player, Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs, perpetrated a murder-suicide. He shot his girlfriend in her apartment in front of her mother, then traveled to Arrowhead Stadium where he was confronted by Chiefs coaches. Upon hearing sirens he killed himself in the parking lot.
2. Ray Rice Elevator Assault
We've covered the Rice incident already. Although Rice's assault falls short of murder, its effect on the league has been more profound. Domestic violence arrests are far more common in the NFL than murders, and the shocking video crystallized the problem for many of the NFL's fans that had previously looked the other way.
Rice's case more than any other single incident may have the greatest effect going forward on how the NFL handles wayward players.
1. Concussion Lawsuit/Crises
The NFL's ongoing issues with concussions don't just threaten the popularity of the sport, they threaten its very existence. The NFL's ignorance of how severely concussions can affect players' lives after their careers end was perhaps the greatest public relations hit the league has ever suffered, and the intimations of the league misleading players about the effects of head injuries, if true, is far worse.
The NFL has drastically altered its rules and protocols to limit bone-jarring hits that can cause concussions, but their devotion to player safety remains in question. As recently as two weeks ago Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman challenged Goodell's devotion to player safety by questioning how safe it is for Thursday Night Football games to include teams playing on just three days rest.
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