Ray Rice Is Eligible To Play Football After Winning Appeal

Another day, another disappointing legal verdict.

NFL sources have revealed that disgraced player Ray Rice has won his appeal against the league, and is now eligible to play, effective immediately. The running back was suspended indefinitely in September after a videotape emerged showing him punching his then-fiancée, now-wife, Janay Palmer Rice. The resulting public outcry also prompted the Baltimore Ravens to cut Rice from the squad.

The appeal itself hinged on what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell knew about the domestic violence. Rice maintained that he had come clean with Goodell prior to the tape's release, while Goodell and other NFL executives argued that Rice hadn't been entirely truthful about the altercation.

As it stands now, Rice can return to the field — assuming the free agent can find a team willing to hire him. The NFL has paid a lot of lip service to the issue of domestic violence over the past two months, but will it put its money where its mouth is? And, at what point will Goodell, who refused to resign from his post, have to face the music? (Yahoo! Sports)