Tenuous Assumption of Innocence

As a Scarlet Knight, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the young men and women of Rutgers University who represent the State University of New Jersey to the best of their ability in a dizzying variety of collegiate sports.

In some sports, such as men's Division 1 basketball, this past season made it hard to do as victories were as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth and I, for one, might have settled for losses that were, at the least, sort of competitive. RU kidding me became the way I checked the scores all season long.

I went to Rutgers so long ago, and so long before Big Time College Football (I always capitalize every word of The Evil that destroyed the greatest college basketball conference in the USA, The Big East, because of the seduction of the money in televising football) arrived on the Banks of The Olde Raritan, we, the students could attend home games for free. But usually didn't because we were trashed from whatever had gone on the night before.

Besides, who wanted to get up both stoned and hungover to attend games against the likes of Delaware, Villanova, Lafayette and Bucknell. It was to be another decade until we swapped cupcakes like those guys for beat downs of epic proportion by Penn State (motto: "we beat you on the field and in the shower") and others of  that ilk. And then another decade before we got close to being in the same weight class.

A lot of factors finally coalesced for the Scarlet Knights to not be a joke. The program matured, some very talented people joined the staff and a lot of successful recruiting paid off with hard work and long practices. One of those who profited, literally and figuratively, from that fortuitous turn of events was a youngster of exceptional talent and for whom, until very shortly ago, I was always happy to cheer, Ray Rice.

I don't pretend to know if he owns or broke every single Rutgers football offensive record, but he's probably close. He went on to become a successful professional football player, currently in the employ of the Baltimore Ravens.

When he showed up in headlines Thursday for punching out his affianced, Janay Palmer, who is the mother of Rice's child, in an Atlantic City casino elevator, I was sickened and saddened.  But I wouldn't claim to have been surprised.

Then I found this on Saturday afternoon. Cynic that I consider myself to be, I'm obviously an amateur because it surprised me. Looks like Ray-Ray got his Chris Brown imitation on and he nailed it. Perfectly.
-bill kenny