President Obama weighs in on Ray Rice behavior


Jennifer Allen, ESPN:

President Nixon's tricks not in Redskins' playbook
In the final minutes of the first half, the Redskins were on the 49ers' 8-yard line, positioned to score. My father called a play he had never before called, and would never call again -- a reverse to the wide receiver -- something he once referred to as a "trick play" and a "gimmicky play." The 49ers defense read the play at the snap of the ball, and turned it into a 13-yard loss. Noting its gross failure, one TV broadcaster quipped, "That must have been a play Richard Nixon called in to George Allen."
The following day, Washington reporters blamed Nixon for the team's defeat. And several days later, columnist Art Buchwald noted, "If George Allen doesn't accept any more plays from Richard Nixon, he may go down in history as one of pro football's greatest coaches."

The play that President Richard Nixon wanted his beloved Washington Redskins to run was on December 26, 1971. The Commander-in-chief had used his influence with head coach, George Allen to get involved in the playoff matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. It was all in good fun, and provided plenty of material for Washington columnists.

The response from the Oval Office on the suspension and release of Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice strongly condemned domestic violence. President Obama was in no mood to make light of this very serious situation.

Gregory Korte, USA Today:
"The President is the father of two daughters. And like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society. Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that's true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something that's bigger than football – and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it."



The slogan for the 1971 Washington Redskins under head coach George Allen was "The future is now." The same holds true for Ray Rice.

Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

For more of my articles, click here.

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