ray rice
‘Legend of the Game’ Ray Rice standing over his girlfriend | Screenshot: TMZSports YouTube Video

The NFL is an entity of extremes. On Sunday, I was treated to watching my 102-year-old team put an absolute beating on the purple boys – while the unfortunate souls who live in Baltimore were treated with a celebration for a former player now best known for viciously beating a woman on camera.

Hey, they don’t call it the National Felon League for nothin’.

RELATED: Ray Rice, Who Once Cold-Cocked His Girlfriend In An Elevator, Will Be Honored By The Ravens As A ‘Legend Of The Game’

OK, But Did He Tell Any Bad Jokes?

It would be one thing if the fans had the correct reaction to such an obviously stupid idea. But these are fans who “celebrated” their city’s best-known denizen: a fictional character known for murdering people with a shotgun.

And so, they cheered the wannabe Tyson Fury. What else would you expect from Baltimore?

But the real tragedy isn’t that there was an event for a “legend” who ended his career with a mere 37 touchdowns. (LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 28… in one season.)

Before I get to my real gripe, here’s a reminder of what “legend” Ray Rice did – combined with topical humor to take a little bit of the edge off:

Yep, that’s the proud son of Baltimore just beating the hell out of a woman. What a hero and legend.

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But What About The Jokes!?

What I’d really like to do is take this opportunity to shame the NFL, Baltimore, the Raiders, and indeed the country.

Recall that an actual legend – coach Jon Gruden – was ridden out of town for personal emails that included one allegedly racist joke and a complaint about female refs.

For these crimes, he was not only driven from his job, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him – their only Super Bowl-winning coach – out of their Ring of Honor over it.

Jon Gruden | Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class John E. Woods

I want you, dear reader, to go back and read that again. Is there some kind of privilege at play here? Did Gruden secretly beat the hell out of several women?

No. That’s just how your country is, now. We celebrate dudes who cold-cock women and demonize bonafide Hall of Famers for impolitic speech.

At this rate, I’m just hoping we aren’t treated to O.J. Simpson Night in Buffalo.

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