..Nike..EA Sports and others pulled from Ray Rice

[KIDWCKED]

Nike says it has severed its endorsement deal with Ray Rice and EA Sports has pulled the suspended running back from its "Madden NFL 15" as fallout grows from his domestic violence incident.

Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins confirmed to ESPN.com that as of noon ET Tuesday, the former Ravens running back, who had an active deal with the company, was no longer on the roster of the world's largest sports shoe and apparel maker.


Jason Whitlock writes that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell failed drastically in his handling of the Ray Rice incident.

Even if Goodell keeps his job, his legacy is forever tarnished.



Despite writing more endorsement checks than anyone else, severing a contract is rare for the brand. The few athletes who have lost their deals include Lance Armstrong, Justin Gatlin and Michael Vick.
Armstrong and Gatlin lost their deals related to performance-enhancing drugs. Vick was released after he admitted to bankrolling a dogfighting operation. Nike has since signed Vick again. Nike has also recently suspended the contract of paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius with a decision likely to be made this week as the trial involving his girlfriend's death comes to a close.
Nike used Rice as recently as January to unveil to the press the special cold-weather gear it made for the Super Bowl in New Jersey. The company is also the official apparel provider of the league.
Rice will be removed from Madden through an online roster update, as the game has already been released.
"With Ray Rice's indefinite suspension from the NFL, he will be removed from 'Madden NFL 15,'" EA Sports communications director Julie Foster said. "This roster change will take place by this Friday."

Rice lost another endorsement deal from a jump training program called VertiMax. VertiMax CEO Michael Wehrell initially stood by Rice in February, after the first video of Rice dragging his then-fiancee out of an Atlantic City casino elevator emerged. On Monday, Wehrell said his company decided to cut its association with Rice in June.
"After internal discussion about the events that transpired, we determined that a future relationship with Ray did not align with our goals as a company," Wehrell said in a statement.
Rice jerseys were pulled off shelves at retailers Dick's Sporting Goods and Modell's on Monday and were no longer available for sale at the NFL Shop, the league's official online store. On Tuesday, the Ravens announced they would allow fans to exchange Rice jerseys at some point, though the details of the program have not yet been specified.

[TLG]

At the risk of starting anything ,,,,,
Rice's wife tweeted it best ,, It's their life ,,, the rest of us should stay out of it !
She was his girlfriend then and married him after the incident ,, so if it's OK with
Her ,,, than why should others stick their nose into it .....

And even though I agree he F**ked up ,,, I agree with her

[TLG]

Ravens plan to offer Ray Rice jersey exchange; Nike also drops Rice <br />
<br />
The Baltimore Ravens no longer are selling Ray Rice jerseys, pink or otherwise, on their official website. In fact, they are...

[TLG]

Ray Rice, wife stand together in public statements of support

Janay Rice, the wife of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, posted a statement on Instagram.
In it, she talks about the "horrible nightmare" that Monday and Tuesday have been and how she feels like Rice's release from the Ravens and NFL suspension have left her as if she's "mourning the death of a friend."
Here's the full statement (her Instagram profile is private, but the Baltimore Sun has confirmed that the statement was intended to be made public):

"I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass of for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don't you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!"

Clearly, Palmer is in her husband's corner, doesn't want to relive the February assault and believes that the media and NFL have handled Rice's case poorly. She's facing the reality that Rice's football career is likely over at this point.
She's also assuming that people are trying to "hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away" in light of watching the extended portion of the video.
But she finishes her message with love for Ravens fans.