{"id":265730,"date":"2026-10-03T23:01:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T23:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/03\/tried-to-pit-me-against-him-pro-bowl-lb-slams-cbs-for-using-him-like-a-puppet-while-recalling-alleged-plan-to-criticize-ray-rice\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T23:01:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T23:01:04","slug":"tried-to-pit-me-against-him-pro-bowl-lb-slams-cbs-for-using-him-like-a-puppet-while-recalling-alleged-plan-to-criticize-ray-rice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/03\/tried-to-pit-me-against-him-pro-bowl-lb-slams-cbs-for-using-him-like-a-puppet-while-recalling-alleged-plan-to-criticize-ray-rice\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTried to pit me against him\u201d: Pro Bowl LB slams CBS for using him \u201clike a puppet\u201d while recalling alleged plan to criticize Ray Rice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5224532\" data-slug-id=\"2844392\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ray Rice was the subject of one of the NFL&#8217;s biggest controversies of the mid-2010s. Now, over a decade later, a former teammate of his has opened up on the experience of covering it.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, former Pro Bowl linebacker-turned-analyst Bart Scott was a guest on The Pivot Podcast. One of the topics he discussed was covering Rice&#8217;s domestic violence case in 2014, his first year since being promoted to a full-time role at CBS.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>According to Scott, the network wanted him to disparage Rice, which it would turn into viral clips. He greatly disliked the ploy:<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"bets-today-poll\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"preview-card-holder bets-today-poll\">\n<p><span class=\"date\"\/> \u2022 <span class=\"time\"\/><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI felt like they thought they were going to use me like a puppet, and I reversed, Uno, draw-two, f*** you. &#8230; They wanted me to throw Ray underneath the bus and step on him and build it so they could have these big clips. And I refused.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"bottom-tagline top\" data-tab=\"top\">\n<p>Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nfl\/nfl-playoff-predictor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\" class=\"bottom_tagline_link\" data-tab=\"top\">NFL Playoff Predictor<\/a> for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>He continued:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cBecause I\u2019m a believer that no man should be judged by his worst moment, right? &#8230; And I knew that Ray Rice was a good person that had a bad moment, which we all can do \u2026 we shouldn\u2019t be defined by that. And I hated that the industry tried to pit me against him and try to use me for clickbait.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nfl\/what-ray-rice-do-why-ravens-legend-s-career-ended-early-disturbing-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">What did Ray Rice do? Why Ravens legend&#8217;s career ended early over disturbing case<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: <\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nfl\/news-watch-ray-rice-seen-swarmed-kids-ravens-training-camp-alongside-marshawn-lynch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">WATCH: Ray Rice seen getting swarmed by kids at Ravens training camp alongside Marshawn Lynch<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Stephen A. Smith got candid on being suspended for Ray Rice comments<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking of sportscasters, ESPN&#8217;s Stephen A. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/will-smith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Smith<\/a> had this to say regarding Ray Rice&#8217;s situation on an episode of First Take in 2014:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Domestic violence, or whatever the case may be, with men putting their hands on women, is obviously a very real issue in our society. &#8230; But at the same time, we also have to make sure that we learn as much as we can about elements of provocation.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The network perceived those comments as &#8220;victim-blaming&#8221; and suspended him for a week. And speaking on Stephanie McMahon&#8217;s podcast &#8220;What&#8217;s Your Story?&#8221; in August, he opened up about what he felt amid that:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cMy attitude is, if you\u2019re around a no-good b****** who would put his hands on a woman, do what you can to get out of that situation until help arrives. And that\u2019s how I meant it to come across. It did not come across that way. &#8230; It was a devastating blow because I know my name has no business ever being associated with domestic violence.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nfl\/youtube\">\n<div class=\"yt-wrapper\">                    <noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stephen A. Smith talks Ric Flair, Dana White &amp; more | What&#039;s Your Story? With Steph McMahon\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FgBDboL5H2w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript>                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nfl\/youtube\" data-embed=\"FgBDboL5H2w\">\n<div class=\"play-button\"><img height=\"370\" width=\"660\" data-img=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/10\/c6d76-17910678561518-1920.jpg\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2026\/10\/c6d76-17910678561518-1920.jpg\" class=\"lazy-img\" alt=\"youtube-cover\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rice&#8217;s case ended with him settling with the NFL in January 2015. In 2018, he revealed in a CBS interview that he was done with football.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Andre Castillo<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nfl\/news-pro-bowl-lb-slams-cbs-using-recalling-alleged-plan-criticize-ray-rice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ray Rice was the subject of one of the NFL&#8217;s biggest controversies of the mid-2010s. Now, over a decade later, a former teammate of his has opened up on the experience of covering it. On Friday, former Pro Bowl linebacker-turned-analyst Bart Scott was a guest on The Pivot Podcast. One of the topics he discussed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":265732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6806],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-265730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gossip"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}