New York, N.Y. - Ray Rice has won the appeal against his indefinite suspension from the National Football League and has been reinstated to sign with any team.
Barbara Jones, a former United States District Judge, now acting as an arbitrator, ruled Friday that the "indefinite suspension" given Rice by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in September, changed after initially suspending Rice for two games, was in her words "arbitrary."
Jones had been engaged to determine if the NFL acted beyond its authority in altering the original suspension given Rice by the commissioner.
Rice was suspended from the league for two games by Goodell on Sept. 8th after striking his then-fiancee in an elevator in Atlantic City in February, and then again, indefinitely, after a surveillance video of the incident was released this summer to great public outrage.
Rice was formally released by the Baltimore Ravens after the video was released, after previously offering tempered support of their tailback, citing respect for the due process of law.
The National Football League Players Asssociation, the players' union, had argued the league violated labor laws by changing Rice's punishment after the video's release.
Rice, his wife Janay, Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, and NFL Security Chief Jeffrey Miller testified at the hearing before Jones.
Mrs. Jones offered the following in her formal decision:
"Because Rice did not mislead the commissioner and because there were no new facts on which the commissioner could base his increased suspension, I find that the imposition of the indefinite suspension was arbitrary. I therefore vacate the second penalty imposed on Rice. The provisions of the first discipline, those regarding making continued use of counseling and other professional services, having no further involvement with law enforcement, and not committing any additional violations of league policies, still stand."
The league has offered no comment on the decision.
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