The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2014–2015
Nike and the Ravens dropped Rice the day the elevator video went public
The NFL priced the incident at two games in July; when the security video surfaced, Rice lost his team, his sponsor and his career in one afternoon.
Nike · Baltimore Ravens · NFL · 2014-09-08
What happened
In February 2014 Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens' star running back, was arrested after an altercation with his fiancée in an Atlantic City casino elevator; both were charged with simple assault, and in March a grand jury indicted him on third-degree aggravated assault. The Ravens stood behind him: 'We know there is more to Ray Rice than this one incident.'
In July the NFL suspended him for two games, the standard first-offence price under the league's domestic-violence rules. Then on 8 September the security video of the elevator incident was published, and the price reset in a single afternoon: the Ravens terminated his contract, the NFL suspended him indefinitely, and the next day Nike confirmed by email that it had ended its endorsement deal. EA Sports removed him from Madden NFL 15, and other partners followed.
The league's office admitted it had not seen the video before imposing the two-game ban — 'no one in our office has seen it until today' — and Commissioner Roger Goodell said he 'didn't get it right.' He had announced tougher penalties for the future, six games for a first offence, in an August letter to owners; they arrived too late to price the case everyone was watching.
Why it happened
- The same incident carried two prices: two games in July, a contract termination and an indefinite suspension in September — the only new evidence was a video the league's office had never watched.
- Every backer reversed on schedule: the Ravens defended him in March and ended his contract the same afternoon the video appeared; Nike, EA Sports and the rest followed within a day.
- The policy rewrite trailed the case: Goodell's new six-game minimum was announced in August, but the video in September showed the old price was wrong before the new rules applied to anyone.
The lesson
A punishment is priced on the evidence seen: two games without the video, and the day it surfaced the same incident cost Rice his contract, his endorsements and his career.
Aftermath
On 21 May 2015 a New Jersey judge dismissed the aggravated-assault charge after Rice completed a pretrial intervention program — anger-management counselling and $125 in fines. Goodell's new domestic-violence policy, six games for a first offence, took effect for future conduct. Rice did not appear in another NFL game after the Ravens cut him.
Sources
- Ravens' Ray Rice indicted on assault charge — ESPN, 27 March 2014
- Ray Rice cut by Ravens, suspended by NFL indefinitely — USA Today, 8 September 2014
- Nike, Others End Business Relationship With Ray Rice — CBS Baltimore, 9 September 2014
- Judge dismisses domestic violence charges against Ray Rice — CBS News, 21 May 2015
- Ray Rice, cut in 2014, honored by Ravens as 'Legend of the Game' — ESPN, 2024
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