Friend of TSS Atty. Keith Sullivan Talks Ray Rice, Floyd Mayweather

The Ray Rice situation is kicking around so many of our heads this week. And with the NFL suits fumbling the ball, and engaging in what many folks believe smells like a crude cover-up, one which we would think would result in the dismissal or resignation of the commissioner, Roger Gooddell, the story has seeped into the fight game.

Apart from Rice, the most notorious face of domestic abuse situations is Mayweather, who was jailed for the infraction in 2012, and currently stands accused by his ex of engaging in similar acts. That case is a civil trial, so some folks don’t view it as seriously, and others, a minority to be sure, believe that so much if not all the domestic abuse material on Mayweather is smoke and mirrors and basis for extortion.

I checked in with friend of TSS Keith Sullivan, an NYC attorney who appears regularly on Fox to share his wisdom. I asked him for his take on the Rice situation, and wondered if because new video popped up which has caused people to re-assess the incident between him and his then fiancee in an AC casino, Rice could be re-charged, with a new case on his lap. He’s already pled and is working through completing terms of his plea deal.

“The prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves,” Sullivan told me. “Ray Rice was indicted on aggravated assault, and they had a rock solid case because of that video. The fact that they gave this punk probation is maddening. To hell with the prosecutor! And for that matter I say the same for the NFL commissioner, to hell with him too and his principles of money over ethics and morals. Women of domestic violence need protection from themselves first and foremost but now they need it from this prosecutor and Roger Goodell as well. I’m irked because legally he walks, the legislatures can complain all they want put it’s pretty much a legal done deal. Shameful.”

“If Rice successfully completes the terms of the probation (which include some anti-domestic violence classes) he will be free and clear,” the attorney stated. “The ‘new’ tape is not new to the prosecutor, they had it when they let him walk despite having a grand jury return an indictment against him. It’s despicable. If he were a homeless man in the street they would look to destroy his life, but hey, he’s Ray Rice, an NFLer, so let’s pamper him and treat him like a star. And the NFL was intentionally ignorant of what happened in that elevator and their only regret is they got caught trying to sweep this under the rug!”

And what of Mr. Mayweather? With a civil suit in play, lodged by his ex Shantel Jackson, helmed by the ultra-determined Gloria Allred, could that case, if a judge or jury believes Ms. Jackson’s allegation, result in Mayweather being sent back to lockup?

“Even if the allegations in the civil suit are substantiated it is unlikely probation would seek to violate him retroactively, as probation ended in August but the allegations made (public on Sept. 4) allegedly occurred during the probation period,” Sullivan said. “The bigger issue, is that domestic violence is a real problem and that along with other crimes is a more systemic problem amongst high-priced athletes than the teams and leagues care to acknowledge.”

Good stuff from an attorney with an excess of common sense, and heart, for that matter…

I get it that many people think there is a line between the athlete, and what they do on the field or in the ring, and what they do there is totally separate from what they do at home. I just don’t agree. We get our cues from newsmakers, on how to act, dress, think…That is a condemnation, it could be argued, of our society, but until we address that, we are where we are. The Rices and Mayweathers do such majestic things on their stage as athletes, but maybe just as important, in the grander scheme of things, is how they live and behave off-stage. Because, you know, there is a grander scheme of things, and we should never give up, wave a flag of surrender, write if off as boys being boys, or none of our business, or business as usual, because the show must go on. Sometimes, there are things more important than the show.

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