Ray Rice's NFL Suspension Overruled by Judge; March to Governor's Mansion Planned in Ferguson, Missouri
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Ray Rice is back in the game, winning his appeal against that indefinite suspension. But will the NFL star ever play again?</s>VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: A Thanksgiving calm in Ferguson did not last long as new clashes break out overnight between police and protesters.</s>PAUL: And there is a big job opening at the top of the military. We're digging into who might fill Chuck Hagel's shoes and the story behind his departure. I hope Saturday has been good to you so far. Thank you for sharing some time with us. I'm Christi Paul.</s>BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's 10:00 here on the east coast, 7:00 out west. You are in the CNN Newsroom.</s>PAUL: And we begin with the morning with the news that Ray Rice is free to return to the</s>NFL. BLACKWELL: Yes. And it's coming months after his fight with his now wife and shot the league's domestic abuse issues into the national spotlight. The former Ravens' running back appealed his indefinite suspension and won. And that means effective immediately he's free to play football again if the team wants to sign him.</s>PAUL: What it came down to is this. The judge and arbitrator Barbara Jones ruled that NFL Commissioner Goodell never should have increased Rice's original two-game suspension because the running back did not lie to the league about hitting Janay in an elevator.</s>BLACKWELL: And the timing is interesting because it's coming out as Janay is now opening up about what happened that night in February in Atlantic City. Here's what she told NBC's "Today" show.</s>JANAY RICE, WIFE OF FORMER RAVENS PLAYER RAY RICE: I was furious. We came home and we didn't talk the entire ride. Well, I didn't speak to him the entire ride home. He tried to talk to me. I didn't want to hear anything. I just knew he hit me and I was completely over it. I was done. I didn't want to hear anything. I just didn't want to entertain him anything he had to say, any explanation. Of course in the back of my mind and in my heart I knew our relationship wouldn't be over because I know that this isn't us and it's not him.</s>PAUL: Joining us CNN sports contributor and "USA Today" sports columnist Christine Brennan on the phone and Rick Horrow, a sports business analyst and the CEO of Horrow's Sports Ventures. Thank you both so much for being with us. Christine, I wanted to get to you. What teams, I mean, is there any gauge what teams might actually want to sign Rice?</s>CHRISTINE BRENNAN, "USA TODAY" SPORTS COLUMNIST: Christi, that is a really interesting question. And the question would also be not only a football question but also a public relations question. Does a team want to take on potential protests and all the things that we saw in September as it bubbled to the surface as people got furious about this knowledge and seeing the video and really coming to terms with what domestic violence looked like in our country, not just in sports but in our country? So the question, a couple teams come to mind who need running backs and who could be a good fit. The Indianapolis Colts, the Cleveland Browns, the St. Louis Rams. Potentially the Oakland Raiders would have been a great fit if their former owner Al Davis were still alive because he would -- he did anything possible that he could to take it to the NFL. But of course Al Davis is gone. So the key question is, is it worth the risk for the public relations nightmare that you are going to bring on to your team?</s>BLACKWELL: Let me ask you this, Rick, broadening this out a little bit. What does this mean for the future of consequences and suspensions possibly for NFL players? Do you think we'll see more harsh and more strict consequences early on, or will there be some delay until they learn more?</s>RICK HORROW, CEO HORROW SPORTS VENTURES: Let me first say quickly that Christine and I know each other well. We graduated from the same school the same year. And I think it's fair to say that we have as much chance collectively being signed by an NFL franchise as a running back this year as Ray Rice does, maybe a little more frankly. We may be wrong. I may be wrong, but the guy, 3.6 yards a carry last year. He's 27 years old. You know, maybe next year. But the important thing here is that the NFL's process was viewed by Judge Barbara Jones in an arbitration hearing as arbitrary because he would have been punished according to articles 46 of the CBA twice for the same incident. And so it really calls out for that clear, consistent, certifiable, transparent, above reproach policy both off and on the field before the Super Bowl that Roger Goodell talked about. So you talk about waiting, Victor. I think every leaguing, not just the NFL, is waiting for that transparent policy because until that happens, all commissioners have to say if they are the judge, jury, and, as she says, maybe even executioner, it's calling that process into question until that standard is created. That's the most important takeaway.</s>PAUL: All right, so Christine, let me ask you this. We're hearing from Janay the first time. I believe Ray Rice is speaking as well today. How might that influence the possibility of him signing with anybody?</s>BRENNAN: I'm not so sure it is going to have much of an influence. I completely agree with my friend Rick, and I look forward to seeing you, Rick, in shoulder pads in a Colts uniform. But I think that the odds are remote. He is going to be 28. That's the other thing to consider here. Of course the shelf life for any NFL player, any professional athlete is very short. So in two months Ray Rice will be 28. And that is old in the NFL and in NFL years. And he had his worst year ever last year. But I do think that the public relations campaign is beginning, as it should. Everyone made so many mistakes. As a culture we've made mistakes in not understanding what domestic violence is. This isn't just an NFL problem. It is a national problem. But I don't think -- in other words, you're asking me would it matter to an NFL team right now that they are speaking out? I don't know. I don't think so. I think that it's going to be hard for Ray Rice to pick up his career whenever he tries to do it, but there may be a team that says sure, let's roll the dice and let's go for it.</s>BLACKWELL: Let's read the statement we have from the league. "Judge Jones ruling underscores the urgency of our work to develop and implement a clear, fair, and comprehensive new personal conduct policy. We expect this policy to be completed and announced in the weeks ahead. Our focus is on consistently enforcing an improved policy going forward. Let's talk about the man at the top. What does this mean if anything for Roger Goodell, Rick?</s>HORROW: It certainly means that he is under the gun very quickly to create that policy that he promised in September. You are looking at his transcript and he says that everyone deserves a fair process but we will implement a new conduct policy before the Super Bowl. Anheuser-Busch, nearly $200 million of advertising around the Super Bowl. Super Bowl ads are sold, as we know, for $4.5 million this year, 90 percent sold out. And I know the Super Bowl shouldn't be the be all and end all because there ease been an important social issue. We're talking about this beyond the NFL, a 2,000 percent increase in help line calls. But every league now has a social responsibility here as long as this policy is consistent. And Roger Goodell, the clock is ticking not just because of you but Visa, Anheuser-Busch, Campbell Soup, and everybody else who spends money with the</s>NFL. BLACKWELL: All right, we'll see what happens and when we get the new information about that policy. Rick Horrow, Christine Brennan, thank you both.</s>BRENNAN: Thank you very much.</s>HORROW: Bye-bye.</s>PAUL: Thank you. We need to talk about Ferguson, Missouri, right now because we are about three hours at this point away from the start of a protest march to honor slain teenager Michael Brown. Demonstrators are planning to spend the next seven days walking 120 miles to the governor's mansion in Jefferson City. There is the route.</s>BLACKWELL: So this march comes just a day after protesters and officers clashed outside the police station in Ferguson.</s>BLACKWELL: At least 16 people were arrested overnight. And our Stephanie Elam is there live in Ferguson for us. Stephanie, talk about the goals, if you would, of this -- this march. What are they hoping to accomplish?</s>STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Victor. There are some plans here that are focusing on police brutality and also about racial profiling. That's the overarching message that they want to focus on. But this march, starting from the Canfield Green Apartments where Mike Brown was shot and killed and marching to the Missouri governor's mansion, the focus is also going to be on Ferguson police. They say that the relationship there between the police and the community needs to be addressed, it needs some reform there. And they are also calling for the resignation of the police chief, Chief Jackson. They want him to step down as well. And this is a drum beat that we've heard before, and it's coming back. And also when you take a look at the protests that we've seen last night as well, there were 16 people arrested but only one of those people was actually from the St. Louis area. Everyone else was from a different state. So you are seeing different people here are also fatigued with the amount of attention in Ferguson, but a lot of protesters I spoke to said that they were going to keep the drum beat going and keep protesting because they thing this issue is so important that it should not go away even though we know the fate of the Officer Darren Wilson and the fact that he was not indicted.</s>PAUL: All right, Stephanie Elam live for us there in Ferguson, Missouri. Thank you, Stephanie.</s>BLACKWELL: All right, up next we're talking about the role of race in Ferguson. One of our guests coming up says that it is not about black rage. It is white rage.</s>PAUL: Plus another police shooting, this time in Cleveland. A 12- year-old boy is dead and the community and police are reacting. We'll tell you what's happening right after the break. Stay close.