Ray Rice Eligible To Play After NFL Suspension Was Overturned For Beating Wife In Elevator.

Rice, 27, initially was suspended two games for a domestic violence incident involving his then-fiancée at an Atlantic City casino in February. The NFL made it an indefinite suspension Sept. 14 and the Ravens cut him after video surfaced of Rice punching out the woman.
The 17-page ruling issued Friday by Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge, and obtained by USA TODAY Sports means Rice is eligible to play immediately if a team signs him.

It's also a blow to Goodell, who has been under heavy fire for months for his mishandling of domestic violence cases, is locked in a battle with the players' union over changes to the personal conduct policy and had portions of the punishment he handed down in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal two years ago overturned as well. "We respect Judge Jones's decision to reinstate Ray Rice from his indefinite suspension for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy in an incident of domestic violence," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement. "Ray Rice is a free agent and has been eligible to be signed by an NFL team since he was released by the Ravens. Based on Judge Jones' decision, he will be eligible to play upon signing a new contract."Earlier this month, Jones oversaw two days of testimony in Rice's appeal hearing. Rice, his wife, Janay Rice, Goodell and Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome were among the people to testify.

In February, Rice and, Palmer, were charged with simple assault. The Atlantic City prosecutor's office later dropped the charge against her. In March, Rice was indicted by a grand jury on the more serious charge of third-degree assault. The charge carried a potential sentence of three to five years in prison. After the indictment, Rice and Palmer married.

In May, Rice entered a program for first-time offenders that would clear his record of the criminal charge if he met certain conditions, including participation in counseling. On July 24, Goodell announced Rice would be suspended for two games once the regular season began. The punishment was heavily criticized as too lenient and sparked a series of changes within the league with how it handles domestic abuse.