Giants' Linebacker Herzlich: I Would Not Welcome Ray Rice To My Team
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- While some professional athletes have come out in support of Ray Rice, only to do an about-face in the face of public outcry, the Giants' Mark Herzlich is no such flip-flopper.
He doesn't want Rice anywhere near the team he plays for.
"I wouldn't welcome him," Herzlich told NJ.com on Thursday. "I've known him before. I've known him as a good guy before. But at the same time, it's kind of an accepting defense, like 'You know what? All right.' ... There is no room for it, to be honest."
Herzlich is of course referring to the domestic violence firestorm that has engulfed the NFL, leading to Rice's release by the Baltimore Ravens and many in the public calling for the resignation of Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Herzlich, a cancer survivor and man of high moral fiber, said there's just no middle ground in the Rice case. Though he'll likely be given another chance one day to play in the NFL, the Giants' linebacker said he doesn't see how Rice would be deserving of another chance.
"I take, first of all, breaking the law very seriously and I don't want to surround myself with people who are going to do it. (Domestic violence) is much different than a victim-less crime, in my opinion," Herzlich said. "There is a victim. There is intention. There is a purpose. That purpose is to hurt somebody else. There is no place for that in the locker room."
Rice was initially suspended two games by the NFL for his attack on his then-fiancee at the now-shuttered Revel Casino in Atlantic City back in February. Many people said Goodell took it easy on Rice, and the commissioner eventually announced a sweeping new domestic violence policy.
Though Goodell was credited with stepping up to the plate, even if it was after the fact, he has been eviscerated in the court of public opinion since TMZ released a report featuring a video of Rice punching out his wife inside an elevator at the casino. The league has said repeatedly it could not obtain the video, though the Associated Press reported a copy of the tape was sent to the league back in April.
Americans across all walks of life have since chimed in on what should happen to both Rice and Goodell. Even the U.S. government has had its say, with 16 senators demanding the league install a zero-tolerance policy on domestic violence.
"It's kind of like steroids. There should be zero tolerance," Herzlich said. "It's not acceptable. It's disgusting. It's brutal. The fact that we as men are supposed to protect the people we love, honestly, if he loves her and she thinks that he loves her, he wouldn't be doing that."
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