"I failed miserably. But I wouldn't call myself a failure cause I'm working myself back up."
-Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens voiced support for running back Ray Rice Friday during a press conference in which the running back apologized for "the situation my wife and I were in." Curiously enough, his wife, Janay Rice, apologized for her "role in that night."
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It seems odd that the woman who was knocked out and dragged out of an elevator would be the one apologizing, which is something that Ryan Van Bibber of SB Nation took issue with. Nothing we say here can be stated better than RVB did, so just take a look at his response to Rice's ill-fated press conference stemming from his ill-fated night.
"It's part of a legal process. I am not an attorney or a judge. I'm a football coach."
-Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco 49ers head coach
San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith is still with the team, though head coach Jim Harbaugh neglected to call him the team's starter on Friday. Speaking prior to a minicamp practice, Harbaugh was asked some tough questions by Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, and the exchange seemed somewhat heated.
Kawakami asked Harbaugh if Smith was still a member of the team "in full good standing" after pleading no contest to three felony counts and a misdemeanor count. Harbaugh answered "yes," then Kawakami asked what the "standard" would be -- whether "10 felony counts" is that standard. Harbaugh then said that Kawakami likely worked really hard on asking the question, and "probably stared in the mirror and thought about just the way you could [ask] that."
Whatever the case, Harbaugh said that there is a legal process, and that he is "not an attorney or a judge," but a "football coach." He also said that Smith is still with the team, but that it's "too early to tell who the starters are right now." There's plenty more at the link above so check it out. Some of it might be a little unfair, but it's a much less-depressing read than the conference in Baltimore.
"This joke 'lawsuit' is obviously 1000000% fake and/or frivolous. Embarrassing I even have to say this after reading the nonsense."
-Erik Burkhardt, Agent
One of the more bizarre news to come out of the NFL on Friday concerns Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel. He's the subject of a $25 million lawsuit, which is turning out to be nothing but a joke. Keep that in mind while we outline some of the things alleged in the lawsuit: Manziel supposedly was sending a woman "naked selfies," which included putting a hot dog bun around his ... unmentionables.
Johnny Law
Yeah ...
For the record, the woman who allegedly filed the lawsuit, Samantha Schacher, has already said she did not file it and that a "serial filer," Jonathan Lee Riches, is the one who did it. Not that he even needed to address this, but Manziel's agent, Erik Burkhardt, said on Twitter that the lawsuit is a joke and "obviously 1000000% fake." Burkhardt said it's "embarrassing I even have [to] say this after reading the nonsense." Manziel is considering legal action in response to the lawsuit.
"The team is committed to supporting Garrett [Scott] in the months to come and will continue to help him determine his next steps."
-John Schneider, Seattle Seahawks general manager
The Seattle Seahawks waived offensive tackle Garrett Scott after discovering a rare heart condition Friday. Scott has yet to play a down in the NFL, and has been with the Seahawks for less than a month after being taken in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Evidently, the heart condition went undiagnosed in pre-draft medical evaluations.
General manager John Schneider said in a statement that the heart condition "will prevent [Scott] from any on-field participation in the near future." Schneider also said that the team is "committed to supporting Garrett in the months to come and will continue to help him determine his next steps." Seattle drafted Scott due to a big need at both tackle positions. He's already signed his rookie contract, so if he passes through waivers unclaimed, the Seahawks could stash him on injured reserve, meaning he would get to keep his signing bonus and collect a first-year salary.