This should be enough to end Roger Goodell's tenure as NFL commissioner.
The only thing more embarrassing to the league than Ray Rice winning his appeal from an arbitrator is what the former federal judge had to say about Goodell in summation.
Here's the most damning words from former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones in her ruling to reinstated Rice and allow him to continue his football career.
"Because, after careful consideration of all the evidence, I am not persuaded that Rice lied to or misled the NFL in his June interview, I find that the indefinite suspension was an abuse of discretion and must be vacated."
In other words, the commissioner who is supposed to lead with integrity was exposed as a liar.
Of course, the NFL is still trying to convince us that it was Rice who was dishonest, not the commissioner.
Even Janay Rice, Ray's wife and victim in this horrible case of domestic violence, couldn't deny that Goodell lied to us.
"I can't say he's telling the truth," Janay said to NBC's Matt Lauer in a TV interview.
She added, "I know for a fact Ray told the honest truth."
In no way does Ray Rice get a pass because the commissioner lied to cover his own butt.
What Rice did – knock out Janay with a crushing left-cross to the face in a casino elevator – was an awful act of cowardice. He shouldn't play football at all this season.
Somehow, Goodell, though, originally gave Rice just a two-game ban for hitting his wife before the elevator video was released.
After TMZ.com released the shocking and brutal video, Goodell said he was misled by Rice about the events of that night when the two met to discuss it. Then, after pressure from the masses to take a tougher stance, Goodell issued an indefinite suspension.
On Monday, the NFL Players' Union should demand Goodell step down or be fired by the owners.
Players can't have trust or faith in a man that we know lied to cover himself. It's the ultimate betrayal.
Sadly, this union is about as tough as wet toilet paper.
Let's not forget it was this same union that gave Goodell the power to be judge, jury and executioner in his misguided to clean up the league.
It was idealistic and dumb.
Goodell did what most do when given ultimate power, he abused it.
If there was ever a time for this union to rally, be strong and committed to being treated honestly and fairly, it's now.
Plain and simple, Goodell has failed.
He failed the owners who hired him. He failed the players. He failed the fans. He failed the NFL shield he supposedly was hired to protect.
It's clear that Goodell, supposedly a smart man, didn't do a thorough investigation into this very serious matter. It just didn't happen.
Before this ruling, Goodell tried to convince everyone that he did his due diligence. That, too, is a lie. Had he, he couldn't have handed down the lame penalty he gave Rice.
Everyone saw the video of Rice dragging her out of the elevator like a caveman. Janay was obviously unconscious. That alone would have told you that she must have been hit or somehow hit her head.
Yet, Goodell wanted us to believe that the NFL couldn't get the video, but TMZ.com could.
Even current and former players lashed out at Goodell's handling of this sad situation at the time. London Fletcher, a former NFL linebacker tweeted this.
@nflcommish to say you got that wrong is an understatement. Very disappointed in you. Wow…unbelievable.
— NFL_IRONMAN (@LFletcher59) September 8, 2014
In important moments in his tenure, Goodell has fumbled his integrity and lost the trust of the public and his players.
Goodell also blew it in the New Orleans Saints Bountygate when he had to reduce suspensions for not having enough evidence. Goodell also botched the New England Patriots' scandal in 2007 that was dubbed Spygate. New England was caught videotaping New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals during a game. Pats' coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team lost its first-round pick.
In that case, Goodell had the tapes in question destroyed so no one could see them.
Here, perhaps, Goodell was hoping for the same thing — no one would see the disgusting, brutal beat down by one of his players, so he would be able to move it along without further damage to the shield.
Nope. Goodell was caught just like Rice and a former federal judge confirmed it.
For that reason, Goodell should get canned.
