CBS Sports and NFL Network have teamed up this year to broadcast Thursday night football. Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports, Brian Rolapp, EVP of Media, NFL, the Thursday Night Football announce team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, and studio analysts Deion Sanders and Bill Cowher teamed up today to preview the TNF season.
Coincidentally, The Thursday Night Football schedule kicks off on September 11th with Pittsburgh at Baltimore. If that wasn’t coincidental enough, the announcement that Ray Rice was released by the Baltimore Ravens, and then suspended by the NFL indefinitely, came at the exact same time that this conference call was conducted.
Therefore, you know what the first, and most often discussed, topic of the call was today.
“Obviously, we’re going to address it early in our show, the first segment. I’m sure our guys will have strong opinions, as they always do,” said McManus.
“It’s a topic of interest, and one that’s very important to the league, we’ll cover it as the news story that it is,” said Rolapp.
So look for the Ray Rice issue to be addressed immediately during the broadcast of that game three days from now.
Phil Simms commented: “What can you say, in words? Of course, I’m appalled. It’s really sad. I’m really sad for his wife, her family. That’s really it. I think the Ravens handled it the right way, they had no choice, but to let Ray Rice go.”
Bill Cowher added: “as a father of three daughters, it was inexcusable and very disturbing. I think they did absolutely the right thing because there’s no way you want to condone that by having that person in your building.”
For the time being, the Ravens have the unenviable position of being the biggest PR black eye in the NFL. And a couple of ex-teammates make a plea to Ray Rice, via Fox Sports:
Deion Sanders: “in light of what we saw, this had to be done, but I’m more interested in the root than in the fruit. I’m more interested in what drives a person to that point, I’m just a prayerful guy and I wish to God that we would reach out to him and he can seek help and just get healing for what he’s dealing with inside from his childhood or whatever that anger is that gets him to that point. That’s what I’m more concerned about, the root of it. Not the fruit of it, the root of it. It was so alarming, because like Coach Cowher, I have two daughters, I have four girls that live in my home with me, so I understand the dynamics of that.”
Paul M. Banks owns and manages The Sports Bank.net, in partnership with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)