Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been out of the NFL for a year and it doesn't appear as if he'll ever be back.
DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFL Players Association, believes that the league is making a concentrated effort to keep Rice out of football. Smith told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that Rice, who is no longer suspended and is eligible to sign with a team, is not being given a fair shot.
"This, unfortunately, is a league that has a history of blackballing players," Smith said. "I find it hard to believe that a player of Mr. Rice's caliber hasn't at least gotten one offer from a team to come workout."
"Blackballing" suggests collusion among the 32 teams to prevent Rice from re-entering the NFL. But the more likely scenario is that each team has independently decided that Rice, who became the face of domestic violence in football circles last year, isn't worth the headache.
Smith speaks to Rice's talent on the field but the reality is that the running back was a declining player before his suspension. Rice carried the ball 214 times for just 660 yards (3.1 yards-per-carry) and four touchdowns in 2013 while catching 58 passes for 321 yards. Nearly all of those marks were his lowest outputs since his rookie season.
The union's job is to protect and support the players. But Rice's off-field transgressions and on-field decline are clearly too much of a risk for a team to take a chance on.
