Ray Rice's Suspension Lifted By NFL Following Abuse Case
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) - Ray Rice has won the appeal of his indefinite suspension by the NFL, which has been "vacated immediately," the players' union said Friday.
The appeal was heard earlier this month by former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones. She was deciding whether the NFL overstepped its authority in modifying Rice's two-game suspension, making it indefinite after video of the Baltimore Ravens running back punching his fiancee-- now his wife -- became public.
Rice was released by the Ravens and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made the suspension indefinite shortly after the video was made public.
The public opinion stemming from the Rice case put pressure on the 49ers to suspend defensive lineman Ray McDonald after he was accused of injuring his pregnant girlfriend in August. The team never suspended McDonald, and no charges were ever filed in that case.