EZEKIEL ELLIOT NOT REWARDED BY NFL FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (NOT RACE, HIS FISTS, RAY RICE)

EZEKIEL ELLIOT NOT REWARDED BY NFL FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (RAY RICE):

IT'S NOT ABOUT HIS RACE, IT'S ABOUT EZEKIEL'S FISTS.

BEATING WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE A RITE OF PASSAGE.

GOD DID NOT CREATE WOMEN TO BE USED AS PUNCHING BAGS.

INSTEAD OF MEN & CHURCHES BLAMING WOMEN FOR "PROVOKING" THEM TO VIOLENCE, GO SEEK SOME THERAPY.


Sources: TMZ Sports, Dallas Morning News, Fox Sports, NY Daily News, USA Today, YouTube



******* Suspension of Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott shows NFL has finally learned from Ray Rice

“I believe you."

It’s such a simple phrase, most often said without much thought of any greater meaning. But for women who are victims of domestic violence, conditioned to think no one will believe them, or that they somehow brought some horror upon themselves, those three little words can be life-changing.

Maybe even life-saving.

Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension, announced Friday by the NFL, has the potential to be transformative, and I’m not referring to the Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl hopes. In its letter to Elliott, one of the league’s brightest young stars, the NFL made it clear that it believed the woman who had accused him of domestic abuse.

It didn’t matter that prosecutors had decided not to bring charges, a sadly common occurrence in domestic violence cases. Nor did it matter that Elliott had disputed the allegations, trashing his former girlfriend and her credibility in the process. It didn’t even matter that Jerry Jones, arguably the most powerful owner in the NFL, had tried to use his influence to affect the outcome of the investigation.

After a thorough and extensive investigation, the NFL came to a simple, yet powerful conclusion: It believed her.

“Based on the entire record, the credible evidence establishes that on multiple occasions during the week of July 16, 2016, you used physical force against (the victim) resulting in her injury,” Todd Jones, the NFL’s special counsel for conduct, wrote in the letter explaining Elliott’s suspension.

The impact of the league siding with a domestic violence victim cannot be overstated.

Yes, understanding of domestic violence has grown in the three years since the Ray Rice fiasco, and attitudes toward victims are improving. But there is still much work to do. Too many cases go unreported or unprosecuted because of a lack of evidence or a fear of not being believed. (Funny how no one demands a video of the break-in when a robbery is reported.) Too many people still assume that domestic violence is someone else’s problem, certain it couldn’t happen in their community, in their circle of friends, in their own home.


Too many women still live in terror, for themselves and for their children. Too many women are still dying, an average of three each day.

By doing a thorough investigation — the league consulted with two medical experts about “the causation and aging of certain injuries” and there were over 100 exhibits, including “thousands” of text messages and other electronic communications — the NFL sent a message that domestic violence is to be taken seriously, and that the accused isn’t the only one who deserves the benefit of the doubt.

“They have a commitment to their players, to treat the players fairly and evaluate any evidence against them fairly,” said Kim Gandy, president and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

“But they also have taken on a responsibility to their fans and society at large to make sure that the victims are also treated fairly.”

For years, the NFL put women in harm’s way with its decisions and actions on domestic violence — or inactions, as was too often the case. Players busted for DUI or drugs often face harsher consequences.

Even after all of the promises Commissioner Roger Goodell made in the aftermath of the Rice debacle, the NFL suspended New York Giants kicker Josh Brown for all of one game last year — this despite knowing his wife had told police she’d been abused more than 20 times and its own security having to step in at the Pro Bowl after Brown showed up at her hotel room.

But Elliott’s suspension, and the league's commitment to giving his accuser a fair shake, is a positive and welcome change. Nothing in this country commands a bigger spotlight than the NFL, and its decisions have the power to drive conversations and influence opinions.

Maybe the NFL's decision, and its reasoning for it, will give a woman the courage to report her abuse or leave her abuser. Maybe it will make those so quick to blame the victim pause to consider that she might be telling the truth.

“Whenever a sports organization — whether it’s the NFL or Major League Baseball or the NBA — takes serious action backed up by evidence in a domestic violence case, it raises the profile of the issue,” Gandy said.

The NFL told a domestic violence victim it believed her. Why shouldn’t we?



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***** Ezekiel Elliott 'itching to play,' even with Cowboys out of playoff picture


Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott -- who returned from a six-game domestic violence suspension last Sunday -- said that the Cowboys' clash with the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday matters, even with Dallas out of the playoff picture.

"I only played nine games this season; I'm itching to play football," Elliott told reporters Wednesday, via The Dallas Morning News. "I don't care if we're playing for nothing, I'm playing for something.

"I'm playing for myself, we're playing for each other, and so I'm excited to go out and play Sunday. I'm not going to have any problem waking up Sunday morning, getting ready to play. You don't have to worry about that from me or from anyone on this team."

Through the nine games Elliott has played, he's racked up 880 yards and is within range of surpassing the 1,000-yard plateau on Sunday.

"If it happens, it happens," Elliott said. "It's not like you can go out there and force that, but it definitely would be nice."

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******* Report: Ezekiel Elliott involved in earlier altercation with domestic violence accuser


Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was allegedly involved in a February altercation with the same woman who has previously accused him of domestic violence, according to a report from USA Today, with the incident reportedly resulting in police being called to the scene:

The woman who accused Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott of abusing her for five days in July also called police on him months before the NFL Draft, alleging she suffered left shoulder pain from the force of Elliott pushing her up against a wall during an argument that turned physical.

An incident report obtained Friday by USA TODAY Sports from the Aventura (Fla.) Police Department said there were no visible signs of injury and that the accuser declined to go to the hospital after police responded to a call about an altercation at Elliott’s apartment Feb. 12.

Article continues below ...Elliott reportedly was not placed under arrest for the alleged altercation.

The Cowboys running back was interviewed by the NFL last month regarding domestic violence allegations from the same accuser this past summer.

No charges were brought at that time. Prosecutors stated the lack of charges were “primarily due to conflicting and inconsistent information across all the incidents resulting in concern regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the filing of criminal charges.”

Elliott’s alleged ex-girlfriend told police in July that Elliott assaulted her while they sat in a parked car and that she has had pain in her wrist but declined medical treatment.

Elliott, who has maintained his innocence, told authorities at the time that he never touched Thompson in “a harmful manner.” He claimed Thompson suffered the bruises in a bar fight.

Earlier this week and prior to this new report, Elliott's attorney, Frank Salzano, released a statement defending his client (via USA Today):

“For the past several days the media has elected to focus on allegations of domestic violence involving Mr. Elliott despite the Columbus, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office decision not to charge Mr. Elliott nearly two months ago.

As previously reported, the prosecutor's office conducted a thorough seven-week investigation whereby in their own words they “dotted every I and crossed every T” and concluded there was no credible evidence to file any charges against Mr. Elliott.

My office provided a mountain of exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Elliott's innocence and directly contradicting all of the false allegations contained in the Accuser’s two police reports as first reported on July 22, 2016.

“Yet the media has chosen to deflect the recent negative press regarding the NFL's reported mishandling of several domestic violence matters by focusing on the NFL's prolonged investigation of Mr. Elliott.

The NFL’s interview of Mr. Elliott was conducted over four weeks ago and went unreported at the time as it was then, and still remains a non-story.

It is league protocol to conduct a separate investigation whenever there are allegations of domestic violence by one of its players.

“We firmly believe that the NFL should promptly close its investigation which is only open because of their apprehensiveness stemming from the recent scrutiny it has come under for its handling of other domestic violence matters.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, we remain firm that the NFL will clear Mr. Elliott of any wrongdoing and this matter can be finally put to rest.”

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE vs BLACK WOMEN (RAY RICE)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE vs BLACK WOMEN (RAY RICE):

AMERICAN SOCIETY DOES NOT PROTECT BLACK WOMEN WHO ARE BEATEN & DISRESPECTED BY BLACK MEN.

WHEN WHITE WOMEN ARE PHYSICALLY ABUSED BY THEIR HUSBANDS THEY RECEIVE EMPATHY.

WHEN BLACK WOMEN ARE PHYSICALLY ABUSED BY THEIR HUSBANDS THEY ARE OFTEN ACCUSED OF PROVOKING THEM.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CAN HINDER A WOMAN'S CREATIVITY.


Sources: TIME, Bradblog, TMZ, Youtube


****** Why Black Women Struggle More With Domestic Violence


Domestic and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV) is a “family secret” in our Black communities. While I’m not suggesting that all Black people think and function in similar enough ways that we could all be labeled simply as one “community,” I do know we have pervasive problems that require nuanced discourse — especially in light of the national conversation about domestic abuse that has erupted over the last week.
Since Ray Rice, former Baltimore Ravens running back, was indefinitely suspendedbecause a video was released of him punching his then-fiancée Janay until she was unconscious, there have been many conversations about violence between partners, and about the particular vulnerability of Black female victims. Much of the discussion has centered around the level of empathy and compassion shown toward victims like Janay, who choose to remain with their abusers.

These events have forced the country to face difficult truths about how prevalent domestic and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV) is in America. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an estimated 1.3 million American women experience DV/IPV each year. Women make up 85% of the victims of DV/IPV. Despite this, most cases are never reported to the police and most women are victimized by people they know.

And for Black women, it’s an even bigger problem: Black women are almost three times as likely to experience death as a result of DV/IPV than White women. And while Black women only make up 8% of the population, 22% of homicides that result from DV/IPV happen to Black Women and 29% of all victimized women, making it one of the leading causes of death for Black women ages 15 to 35. Statistically, we experience sexual assault and DV/IPV at disproportionate rates and have the highest rates of intra-racial violence against us than any other group. We are also less likely to report or seek help when we are victimized.

The reasons Black women suffer disproportionately from abuse are complex. Racism and sexism are two of the biggest obstacles that Black women in America face. But because many Black women and men believe racism is a bigger issue than sexism, Black women tend to feel obligated to put racial issues ahead of sex-based issues. For Black women, a strong sense of cultural affinity and loyalty to community and race renders many of us silent, so our stories often go untold. One of the biggest related impediments is our hesitation in trusting the police or the justice system. As Black people, we don’t always feel comfortable surrendering “our own” to the treatment of a racially biased police state and as women, we don’t always feel safe calling police officers who may harm us instead of helping us. And when we do speak out or seek help, we too often experience backlash from members of our communities who believe we are airing out dirty laundry and making ourselves look bad in front of White people.

Access to employment and economic self-sufficiency are also important. Racism has a disparate impact on Black people, men especially, who have, for the past six decades, consistently been held to an unemployment rate almost double that of white men. In a society that measures “manhood” primarily by one’s ability to provide, being denied access to the means to provide can cause some men to seek power through dominating women. For some men, the venting of anger turns violent and their partners suffer the greatest blows. Black women also face employment disparities, earning less than Black men and White men and women. This wage disparity limits available options and leaves many women, particularly mothers, feeling trapped in bad relationships where financial needs trump all.

Spiritual beliefs and negative views about mental health services also factor into why many Black women remain with abusive partners. One in three Black Americans who need mental health treatment actually receive it, and we are more likely to rely on religious guidance and faith-based practices when working through relationship issues. Religious beliefs often discourage divorce, encourage forgiveness and occasionally condemns those who seek psychiatric services instead of relying on faith. Black women’s perceptions of what constitutes abuse have been influenced by their negotiation of spiritual and mental health beliefs and how they have shaped our paradigms. Researchers have also found that Black women report feeling more obligated to fight back than to report abuse and that is reflected in the disproportionate rates of DV/IPV reported by Black men. Our attempts to embody the “strong Black woman” stereotype have often done more harm than good, to us and those we love.

There is a lot we don’t fully understand about the unique ways in which Black women endure DV/IPV because the lack of empirical research is indicative of what may simply be lack of empathy and concern for what Black women experience. I have been a fierce advocate for Black women and a mental health social worker for more than a decade and I have learned that we cannot win this fight if we don’t acknowledge any such fight exists to begin with. We need to continue speaking out and social media has become valuable in helping victims share their stories and learn about resources that can help. We need to push for stronger laws that punish criminal abusers and we need to advocate for more treatment options for victims and abusers who seek help. We need to fund advocacy programs and supportive services for victims of DV/IPV and work on reducing the stigma attached to seeking help when one is in trouble. Most of all, we need to believe that Black girls and women are valuable, important and worth putting ourselves and our personal safety first, and in our society that might be the hardest thing of all.

For too long, the experiences of Black women have been ignored, particularly when it comes to those that affect our overall health and well-being. For centuries, our bodies and labor have been exploited to serve the needs of everyone but ourselves, and the physical and psychological toll can no longer be swept under the rug.

Black women matter and the longer we remain invisible and have our dignity stripped and our humanity disregarded, the closer we get to the destruction of our families and communities. We must all work to end the marginalization of Black women and focus our energies on amplifying our voices and sharing what we go through at home, at work and in our communities.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE vs THE 2016 ELECTION (WOMEN VOTERS)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE vs THE 2016 ELECTION (WOMEN VOTERS):

VA HOSPITALS DON'T SCREEN VETS FOR MENTAL HEALTH OR SIGNS OF BEATING THEIR WIVES. (AGGRESSION)

THE MEDIA HAS FORGOTTEN RAY RICE PUNCHING OUT HIS THEN FIANCEE' JANAY PALMER.

IT'S TIME TO CLOSE VA HOSPITALS &  PRIVATIZE VET HEALTH CARE.

Helping Women in Abusive Marriages and Relationships become self-sufficient should be a key 2016 platform issue.

Women married to U.S. SOLDIERS and ATHLETES are frequent victims of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

There are thousands of Male U.S. Military Vets living in American society with severe MENTAL HEALTH issues.

Due to Survival skills they learned while on Active Duty, its not uncommon for Military VETS (Men) to appear Sane in public while Abusing their Wives and Children behind closed doors.

VA Hospitals do NOT screen these Military Heroes, instead they just prescribe them PILLS for the purpose of SELF-MEDICATING their Mental Health issues.

Considering the number of mega VA Hospitals Scandals under Pres OBAMA'S administration, I say it is time shut down all VA Hospitals and PRIVATIZE Health Care for Veterans.

It is also time for all VETS to receive MANDATORY Mental Health screening each time they request pills for illness, each time they are DIVORCED and each time an immediate member of their family dies via SUICIDE.

~ Husbands Who Bring The War Home

With thousands of troops now preparing to return, a new crisis may open on the domestic front. Military wife Stacy Bannerman on the husbands she’s seen transformed into domestic abusers.

"If you don't hear from me in the next 24 hours, call the police," she whispered, then hung up. My phone read 2:12 am; it was the third call in as many minutes.

I tried calling back—no answer. I went back to sleep, angry at Kristi for calling in the middle of the night and scaring me with a single sentence.

The next morning I fired off an email: "I cannot, for the love of God, imagine what you were thinking when you called last night.

Please tell me." Kristi and I had become battle buddies at home while our husbands were serving in Iraq in 2004-05.

We had cried each time a military family member called with word of a soldier's death or suicide; we grieved at funerals and gravesites, marches and memorials.

We wept with and for each another when she or I learned that our husband had been mobilized for another deployment, and again when they finally came home.

Her husband had served three combat tours since 2002.

The last one was the shortest yet, a mere 10 months, and Kristi wrote in an email that "he actually came back pretty normal this time!" That was nearly four months ago. When my phone rang in the afternoon early last fall, I saw that it was her, and picked up.

"Mark tried to strangle me last night," she blurted out. "I called you from the bathroom. I locked myself in with the pets. I didn't want him to hurt my puppy. I'm sorry I called. I was just so scared, and I didn't have anyone else to call. I couldn't call the cops."

I had gotten other midnight calls from other military wives, cowering in closets and under dining room tables, dialing for a lifeline to someone outside of their domestic war zone.

But this was my friend: strong and smart, she had worked at a women's shelter nearly a decade ago. She knew all the warning signs.

And Kristi's husband adored her.

He had no history of domestic violence, no pattern of abuse. He had made no attempts to isolate her from friends, family, or finances. Mark's most recent post-deployment mental health assessment hadn't indicated any issues.

There hadn't been a single red flag before Mark wrapped his hands around Kristi's throat and squeezed, which is what makes veterans' household violence unique.

Abuse by combat veterans tends to have its own distinctive pattern that is unlike the recurring power-and-control cycle of abuse described in most domestic violence literature.

The journal Disabled American Veterans stated that veteran interpersonal violence often involves "only one or two extremely violent and frightening abusive episodes that quickly precipitate treatment seeking."

"Mark tried to strangle me last night," my friend blurted out.

The majority of studies of treatment-seeking veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or combat-related mental health issues report that at least 50 percent of those veterans commit wife-battering and family violence.

Male veterans with PTSD are two to three times more likely than veterans without PTSD to engage in intimate partner violence, according to the VA, which also found that the majority of veterans with combat stress commit at least one act of spousal abuse in their first year post-deployment.

"How are you now?" I asked Kristi. "Where is he?"

"I'm okay, but my throat hurts a little. He's gone. I made him leave this morning. I told him I didn't want to hear from him until he had talked to a counselor or gotten into some kind of treatment.

I said that I didn't feel safe with him, and I couldn't…I wasn't…" she sobbed, hiccupping out words, "I wasn't sure if I ever would again… Goddamn it. Goddamn this war."

Kristi and I talked a lot over the next days and weeks—mostly she talked, and I listened. She was seeing a civilian counselor, but spent most of her time at home, shell-shocked and alone.

She said her counselor just kept telling her to leave her husband, giving her lectures on the typical cycle of domestic abuse, so she tried to find someone who understood the military and veterans.

She called the military chaplain on post, but he never called back. She called the VA, and asked if they had support programs for wives of combat veterans.

They didn't. She called Military One Source, a free counseling assistance program provided by the Department of Defense.

But the lady there just started to cry, and told her that she got "these calls all the time. I can't help you. Unless you authorize a report, I can't authorize assistance."

Kristi reached out to another military spouse that lived off post and was married to an Iraq war veteran.

She told her what happened, and her friend said that she and her husband had gotten into so many fights, hitting and screaming and throwing things at each other, that she ended up going to the domestic violence shelter.

Staff at the shelter told her that they didn't have programs for wives of veterans, and that her husband made too much money for her to stay there, anyway.

Meanwhile, Mark was staying with friends, or sleeping in his office. 

After several days of silence, they began talking, but she hasn't seen him since that night, and at times, she's wondered if she even wants to. "I miss him, I do," she said. "We've already been apart way too much, but I am so angry, and hurt."

Today, Kristi says that Mark's trying to get help, but it's not easy.

He called a domestic violence hotline, and the person he talked to discouraged him from going to the men's group because he doesn't fit the abuser profile. "It's not like he can make a lot of calls about this when he works for 10 hours every day,"

Kristi says. "His insurance won't pay for him go to a private therapist at night. They said he can only see someone at the base medical center, and he's not doing that. He can't really sneak off for three hours in the middle of the day and drive down to the VA, either."

Most family victims of veteran violence don't file reports with the police or their husband's command.

The military is stepping up domestic violence programs and education at military instillations, but the pressure on spouses within the active duty and retired military culture and much of the civilian population to remain silent is especially intense during a time a war.

Speaking out about veteran violence at home seems to be perceived as more of a betrayal than the violence itself.

Even so, since 2003, there has been a 75 percent increase in reports of domestic violence in and around Ft. Hood, where the number of soldiers diagnosed with PTSD rose from 310 in 2004 to 2,445 in 2009.

Equally telling is the 2010 Military Family Lifestyle Survey, the second annual poll conducted by Blue Star Families (BSF) of military families with a loved one currently in the service.

This year's survey included a ream of questions about returning-veteran violence. I don't think there was a single question on that topic last year.

When I last spoke to Kristi, she said that she had quit praying that she and Mark "would get their old lives back. That's gone." Now, she just prays that the last deployment was, in fact, the last, and that someday, the war will end for them, too.

About 63,000 soldiers will return from combat tours between July and December. 

According to military statistics, nearly half of active-duty National Guard members, 38 percent of Army soldiers, and 31 percent of Marines report mental health problems upon return from Middle East deployments.

If just 20 percent of them have post-combat stress, then it can reasonably be projected that roughly half of those veterans will commit at least one act of severe domestic abuse or interpersonal violence in the coming year.

That's approximately 6,300 veterans' wives and kids who are at risk.

President Obama declared that major combat operations in Iraq are over.

They may just be starting for thousands of America's military family members.

Sources: CNN, Daily Beast NY Times, TMZ, Youtube

RAY RICE REINSTATED TO PLAY IN NFL; DESERVES 2ND CHANCE; HE IS NOT A DEMON

RAY RICE WINS HIS APPEAL......IS REINSTATED TO THE NFL.

HE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE BECAUSE HE'S HUMAN.

RAY RICE WAS WRONG BUT HE IS NOT A DEMON.

Article Sources: ESPN; CBS News; Youtube


ARTICLE: "Ray Rice Wins Appeal"

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has won his appeal of an indefinite suspension and has been reinstated to the NFL.

Rice is now eligible to sign with any NFL team.

"I would like to thank Judge Barbara Jones, the NFL Players Association, my attorneys, agents, advisors, family, friends and fans -- but most importantly, my wife Janay," Rice said in a statement released by the NFLPA on Friday.

"I made an inexcusable mistake and accept full responsibility for my actions.

"I am thankful that there was a proper appeals process in place to address this issue. I will continue working hard to improve myself and be the best husband, father and friend, while giving back to my community and helping others to learn from my mistakes."

Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones, who heard Rice's appeal earlier this month, concluded in her decision, which was obtained by ESPN, that Rice did not lie to or mislead NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

"In this arbitration, the NFL argues that Commissioner Goodell was misled when he disciplined Rice the first time. Because, after careful consideration of all of the evidence, I am not persuaded that Rice lied to, or misled, the NFL at his June interview, I find that the indefinite suspension was an abuse of discretion and must be vacated," Jones' decision stated.

"I find that the NFLPA carried its burden of showing that Rice did not mislead the Commissioner at the June 16th meeting, and therefore, that the imposition of a second suspension based on the same incident and the same known facts about the incident, was arbitrary," Jones also wrote.

"The Commissioner needed to be fair and consistent in his imposition of discipline.

"Moreover, any failure on the part of the League to understand the level of violence was not due to Rice's description of the event but to the inadequacy of words to convey the seriousness of domestic violence. That the League did not realize the severity of the conduct without a visual record also speaks to their admitted failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely."

An NFL spokesman, when asked by ESPN's Andrew Brandt if the league would pursue any further action against Rice, said: "We, of course, accept the ruling as binding."

Rice's wife, Janay, told ESPN's Jemele Hill on Friday that they learned of the ruling while at the house of Janay Rice's mother, and were with family and friends at the time.

"It feels unbelievable," Janay Rice said. "It's a relief. We've been telling the same story for months and we always had faith that we'd done the right thing. Everyone deserves a second chance. We're excited about what the future will bring."

Whether Rice is entitled to back pay for game checks he missed during his suspension will be determined in a separate proceeding through the grievance filed against the Ravens by the NFLPA on behalf of Rice.

"This decision is a victory for a disciplinary process that is fair and transparent," the NFLPA said Friday in a statement. "This union will always stand up and fight for the due process rights of our players. We take no pleasure in seeing a decision that confirms what we have been saying about the Commissioner's office acting arbitrarily. The only remaining action is for NFL owners to embrace a fair process with a neutral arbitrator in all cases. The players thank Judge Barbara Jones for her time and thoroughness in this matter."

Rice was suspended indefinitely Sept. 8 for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy after a video of him hitting his then-fiancée was released publicly.

Goodell originally had suspended the running back for two games. The incident occurred in February inside an elevator at an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome testified under oath Nov. 6 in the appeal hearing that he heard the former Baltimore running back tell Goodell during his June 16 disciplinary hearing that he had hit his then-fiancée in a casino hotel elevator, sources told ESPN's "Outside the Lines."

Rice also testified, as did his wife. Details of what Rice and his wife testified to Nov. 6 and what Goodell said Nov. 5 were not released to "Outside the Lines" because of a gag order that Jones imposed. But sources said Newsome backed Rice's previous accounts of what he told Goodell.

Goodell spent the majority of his time testifying under cross-examination by outside union attorney Jeffrey Kessler, sources said.

Rice's attorney, Peter Ginsberg, said in a statement Friday it was "a huge relief" that Rice can "get back to work."

"That is the fair and legally correct result. The decision, however, certainly does not mean that this incident will be forgotten by anyone involved," Ginsberg said in the statement. "On a personal level, Ray, individually, and Ray and Janay, as a couple, are dealing with these events privately. On a professional level, it is time for Ray to prove himself again.

"Hopefully, the NFL will use this incident to learn and to improve. On the heels of Bountygate, Commissioner Roger Goodell has shown once again that he does not follow the rules in his treatment of players and that his judgment cannot be trusted. Under his leadership, the NFL ignored for years the need to create a stronger and more constructive program to address domestic abuse."

Rice, 27, is a three-time Pro Bowler and helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII. He rushed for 6,180 yards and 37 touchdowns in six seasons with Baltimore.

Ravens receiver Torrey Smith tweeted his support of his former teammate after Rice's reinstatement was announced.