After deciding to settle the grievance filed by running back Ray Rice over his Sept. 8 release, the Ravens are ready to put one of the ugliest sagas in franchise history behind them.
The wrongful termination hearing was set to begin on Thursday before the sides agreed to a settlement that spared each party further public scrutiny and embarrassment. Rice was seeking the $3.529 million he was scheduled to make in base salary upon returning from his original two-game suspension before his contract was terminated hours after TMZ released the in-elevator video of Rice striking his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City casino.
It remains unclear how much money was included in the settlement.
“The Ravens agreed to resolve the grievance with Ray Rice. It’s time to turn the page, and we’re moving forward,” team president Dick Cass said in a released statement. “We will continue to focus on being the best partner we can be with our community, and that includes our work with the House of Ruth and One Love Foundation on the issue of intimate partner abuse.
“We wish Janay and Ray Rice the best.”
The Ravens recently donated $400,000 to the One Love Foundation, an organization created in memory of murdered University of Virginia women’s lacrosse player and Baltimore native Yeardley Love that raises awareness about domestic violence.
Rice’s indefinite suspension handed down by the NFL after the in-elevator video surfaced on Sept. 8 was overturned in November, but the 27-year-old has yet to be signed by a team.
