Ray Rice Can't Play Nice: The Hitting Hand Destroys The Brand

NEW ORLEANS - Sept. 16, 2014 - PRLog -- Ray Rice won’t be getting another chance with the Baltimore Ravens after all, and there’s no guarantee he’ll get another chance from the NFL either. Following a rocky legal history for assaulting his then fiance (now wife) Ray Rice’s career has made a 180 degree turn for the worse. The NFL’s initial reaction to assault charges against Rice was to suspend him for two games, like it was no big deal. Likewise, fans continued to rally and cheer him on at team practices open to the public. Everything changed though, when the public was exposed to graphic footage showing Rice hitting his now wife so hard that she was knocked unconscious, ending with him dragging her lifeless body out of the elevator. When TMZ released the security footage, Rice was one game away from playing again. A three-time Pro Bowl pick who helped Baltimore to a Super Bowl title in the 2012 season, Rice had three years remaining on the five-year contract he signed with the Ravens in July 2012. He had spent his entire career working hard to develop his brand, only to destroy it. Meanwhile his wife, Janay Palmer, has stuck by his side and has even vocally apologized for her part in the whole incident. Hours following the elevator video being made public, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens terminated Rice’s contract; which was followed by the NFL commissioner announcing Rice’s indefinite suspension from the NFL. It wasn’t until this happened that Ray Rice publicly apologized for what he did.

His actions were inexcusable, unprofessional, and morally wrong. The brand that Ray Rice has spent his entire career working hard to build has been destroyed.  A business is only as good as its brand. Without a brand the public supports, a business cannot survive. As a leading authority on buying and selling businesses, I know the hardest businesses to build are the ones that are made up of one person. Clients or customers must trust the businesses they work with, and the only way to do that is to build credibility of a company’s brand. Ray Rice’s actions reflected rather poorly on the NFL, while it has completed ruined his personal reputation all together. The business he’s marketed himself as a professional athlete will now go down in history as the abusive football player who raised awareness on domestic violence. It was not until this incident that the NFL modified its rules and consequences for players who assault their partners. Since the NFL imposed standardized penalties last month, two NFL players are known to have been arrested on domestic violence charges.  Domestic violence affects every aspect of our society, and too often society turns a blind eye until a person’s black eye brings them around. In retrospect of Rice killing his career, I am hopeful that the awareness his violent actions raised on domestic violence will save the life of someone struggling with it in their own life.