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The top 3 career-ending NFL off-field controversies
#3 - Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Off-field controversies notwithstanding, Ray Rice is a Super Bowl champion, two-time All-Pro and three-time pro-Bowler. But in 2014, he was caught on tape having an altercation with his then partner and now wife. They shouted obscenities at each other before Ray Rice decided to punch her in the head, driving her unconscious. He then dragged her out of an elevator in that state.
The sheer brutality of the video shocked watchers and the video proof made it impossible for the league to avoid it. On September 8, 2014, Rice was let go by the Ravens. He was later suspended by the league indefinitely. Even though the suspension was overturned on appeal, such off-field controversies have a way of sticking around, which is why Rice never played in the NFL again.
#2 - Henry Ruggs III, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
The most recent example of off-field controversies bringing a stop to a budding career is that of Henry Ruggs III. He was arrested just this week for driving under the influence and causing the death of a person due to reckless driving. The Las Vegas Raiders have since let him go.
It looks unlikely that he will ever play in the NFL since prison is a realistic possibility given the charges. This is too serious an incident to be dismissed, clubbed with other minor off-field controversies.
#1 - Aaron Hernandez, TE, New England Patriots
The man at the top of the list is former tight end Aaron Hernandez of the New England Patriots. It is a story that is equally harrowing and chilling. While it has been bracketed under off-field controversies, it was much sinster than that.
On June 18, 2013, Hernandez was investigated for murdering his friend Odin Lloyd. On June 26, 2013, he was charged and the Patriots let him go on the same day. While a clear motive was never established, Lloyd was thought to have discovered Hernandez's purported bisexuality. CTE from concussions might also have been a factor.
Hernandez was subsequently sent to prison and committed suicide on April 19, 2017. Insofar as off-field controversies go, there is nothing that can surpass the all-round compound tragedy of this affair.
