The NFLPA or NFL Players Union has decided to make an appeal to the higher court regarding Ray Rice's indefinite suspension sanctioned by the NFL after videos of his hitting his then fiancée Janay Rice emerged in the internet.
During the first release of the video, Rice was suspended for two games with the Baltimore last July. It was in relation to the NFL's personal conduct policy after Rice was charged with assault following a Feb. 15 altercation with his then-fiancee in a casino elevator.
Rice has then served the first game suspension and but on Sept 8 a second video surfaced seeing Rice punching Janay inside an elevator which had the latter, thrown to the ground. Within just a couple of hours, NFL made a decision to raise the two-game suspension to an indefinite suspension.
According to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as well as the Baltimore Ravens, they were not aware of the second video before Sept 8.
To this, the NFLPA said "This action taken by our union is to protect the due process rights of all NFL players. he NFLPA appeal is based on supporting facts that reveal a lack of a fair and impartial process, including the role of the office of the commissioner of the NFL. We have asked that a neutral and jointly selected arbitrator hear this case as the commissioner and his staff will be essential witnesses in the proceeding and thus cannot serve as impartial arbitrators."
NFLPA said that their appeal requires a hearing date to be set within 10 days of the appeal notice. And according to them, the labor law states that "an employee can't be punished twice for the same action when all of the relevant facts were available to the employer at the time of the first punishment."
For now, the NFL has not responded to queries about the appeal but National Organization for Women President Terry O'Neill said "The erratic and illogical system of ad hoc punishments is a paltry substitute for the leadership the NFL desperately needs right now. Roger Goodell must resign, and his successor must be fully committed to real and lasting change."
