09-09-2014, 10:00 PM
(09-09-2014, 06:06 PM)Cutz Wrote: It'll be a curious situation. The Eagles had a similar situation in Vick after his prison term. Huge negative fan reaction for the team, but it was a "rehab, second chance" situation. With Rice, the fact that he didn't go to prison will make that angle a much harder PR sell for a team. "He's completed his intervention program" doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
That's true -- hard to say what the public will and won't look past, in time.
In addition to the fact that Rice isn't gonna do any jail time, the fact that people have seen what Rice did might make it harder for him to to be accepted anywhere in the league as compared to Vick. The personal nature of the crime is also working against him, IMO.
Then again, I remember some discussion a couple of years ago in the NFL Thread about Ray Lewis. He was acquitted of murder, but pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. One of the Mock guys, I think it was Jimbone, was convinced that Lewis was guilty of murder and that he was an asshole who got away with it because of his star status. I don't know whether a lot of football fans feel the same way about Lewis as Jimbone did, but I got the impression that the Ravens completely supported Lewis and the fans rooted for him and the team despite his serious trouble with the law.
Definitely curious...