--- description: Ray Rice has been reinstated into the NFL after winning an appeal against his indefinite suspension from the league. title: Ray Rice Suspension: Court Overturns NFL Suspension image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ad6a2ba24920f4d/69876b7ae20a87e840a83a4a/ray-rice-ravens-nfl.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ray Rice Suspension Overturned  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 28, 2014 8:44 PM CUT  Ray Rice arrives for an appeal hearing of his indefinite suspension from the NFL on Nov. 5, 2014, in New York. Ray Rice arrives for an appeal hearing of his indefinite suspension from the NFL on Nov. 5, 2014, in New York.Seth Wenig—AP  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Nov 28, 2014 8:44 PM CUT Ray Rice has been [reinstated](http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/%5F/id/11949855/ray-rice-baltimore-ravens-wins-appeal-eligible-reinstatement "undefined") into the NFL and could potentially play again, after winning an appeal Friday against his indefinite suspension from the league. The former Baltimore Ravens running back was suspended in September after video emerged of him punching his wife unconscious in an elevator and then dragging her limp body out of the closing doors. The appeal to the suspension was heard by U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones. A NFL spokesman told [ESPN](http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/%5F/id/11949855/ray-rice-baltimore-ravens-wins-appeal-eligible-reinstatement "undefined") that the league would “accept the ruling as binding.” While the ruling means Rice is eligible to play in the NFL again, he will first have to find a team that will take him. The Ravens terminated his contract in September as the controversy surrounding the elevator incident grew. \[[_ESPN_](http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/%5F/id/11949855/ray-rice-baltimore-ravens-wins-appeal-eligible-reinstatement "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3609836/ray-rice-suspension-overturned/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3609836/ray-rice-suspension-overturned/"},"headline":"Ray Rice Suspension Overturned","datePublished":"2014-11-28T20:44:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:26:46.517Z","description":"The NFL will \"accept the ruling as binding\"","url":"https://time.com/3609836/ray-rice-suspension-overturned/","keywords":["Football","Crime","Sports topic","NFL","ray rice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ad6a2ba24920f4d/69876b7ae20a87e840a83a4a/ray-rice-ravens-nfl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ad6a2ba24920f4d/69876b7ae20a87e840a83a4a/ray-rice-ravens-nfl.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ray Rice","caption":"Ray Rice","creditText":"Seth Wenig—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3609836/ray-rice-suspension-overturned/","name":"Ray Rice Suspension Overturned"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ray Rice Apology","description":"Ray Rice Apology","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Fu9CAHZT/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-31T18:54:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fu9CAHZT.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3609836/ray-rice-suspension-overturned/","duration":"PT1M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3609836/ray-rice-suspension-overturned/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```