More Than 7,000 Fans Turn In Ray Rice Jerseys In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (CBSNewYork/AP) -- More than 7,000 fans turned out Friday and Saturday to swap their Ray Rice jerseys for those of other Ravens players during a two-day event at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
The team handed out 5,595 new jerseys before running out before midday Saturday, then issued more than 2,400 vouchers for fans to pick up their jerseys once new shipments arrive in October.
Team spokesman Kevin Byrne said the Ravens spent ``six figures'' on the trade-in, though declined to disclose an exact figure.
Approximately 15 percent of those who showed up had their jerseys rejected because either they were not officially licensed by the NFL or hadn't been available through the team's online or stadium store.
Byrne said the jerseys collected by the team will be given to companies that deal in scrap materials.
Rice was initially suspended for two days after TMZ released a video showing him dragging his then-fiancée out of an elevator in the now-shuttered Revel Casino in Atlantic City.
Rice was initially suspended for two games after news of the first video hit. After defending the punishment at first, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted more than a month later that he "didn't get it right" and announced tougher penalties for future domestic violent incidents.
Then when the second video merged of the assault on Rice's then-fiancee, the Ravens cut the star running back and the league banned him indefinitely.
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