OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Within minutes of the NFL announcing Jimmy Smith's four-game suspension Tuesday night, the Baltimore Ravens released a statement saying they remained committed to their star cornerback.
This is a no-brainer for the franchise from a football and financial standpoint.
It is also a major risk for a franchise that was in the national spotlight less than four years ago because of a domestic abuse incident.
Since the Ray Rice incident, no team has taken a harder stance on violence against women than the Ravens. Baltimore has not signed a free agent or drafted a college player with domestic violence in his past since cutting Rice in September 2014, when a video surfaced of him punching his then-fiancée while in an elevator.
Smith was suspended for the first quarter of the 2018 regular season after the NFL discovered "evidence of threatening and emotionally abusive behaviors" by Smith toward a former girlfriend who is the mother of his first child, according to the Ravens. There was "a pattern of improper conduct," the team said in its statement.
"The Ravens fully support the NFL's decision" to suspend Smith, the team said. Did the Rice situation have any effect on the organization's approach to Smith?
"I appreciate the questions. I guess I'm the one up here answering them," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Thursday. "I don't have anything further to add to all of that. My focus is getting our team ready to play."
The Ravens insisted they learned from what happened with Rice. Team officials vowed to treat domestic abuse with the degree of seriousness it deserves.
"Domestic abuse? Not taking them," Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in January 2017. "Kansas City is in the playoffs, partly because of a guy [Tyreek Hill] they took a chance on [despite pleading guilty to a domestic abuse charge]. Will we take chances like that again? I don't think so."
Now, 19 months later, the Ravens are taking a chance on a high-profile player being disciplined because of a domestic dispute.
The NFL's discipline of Smith stems from a petition filed last year in court by his former girlfriend, who alleged Smith has a history of being physically violent. Smith has denied those allegations, and the NFL didn't find any evidence of physical abuse.
The Ravens aren't saying much beyond their team-controlled message in Tuesday's statement. Neither Bisciotti nor any front-office member has addressed this matter publicly. The organization believes it was exhaustive in its due diligence on Smith.
In deciding Smith's future, the Ravens said the franchise consulted with domestic violence experts and addressed the matter with female and male executives not directly involved in football operations. Smith underwent a clinical evaluation and agreed to follow-up treatment if it's warranted, according to the Ravens.
"Through our conversations with Jimmy, we believe he is taking the proper steps to improve and that he can change," the Ravens said in a statement. "Jimmy has assured us that he is fully dedicated to making this change. He also understands the consequences if he does not."
By sticking with Smith, team officials have opened themselves to scrutiny in being linked to domestic abuse, whether emotional or physical.
From a football standpoint, it's understandable that Baltimore would want to keep its top cornerback after missing the playoffs three consecutive seasons. It's also smart business, as cutting Smith now would trigger a $12.7 million dead-money figure (divided over two seasons), which would hurt any team's salary cap.
The Ravens are showing a great amount of faith by standing by Smith in the wake of the Rice incident. This is a team that allowed fans to exchange their Rice jerseys, spending six figures for the trade-in. This is a team that sent a letter of apology to fans and sponsors after cutting Rice. This is a team that formed partnerships with and made substantial donations to organizations such as House of Ruth and the One Love Foundation.
The franchise is now putting its trust in Smith, who slid to the Ravens in the first round of the 2011 draft because of character concerns. Over the past four years, Smith was charged with failure to obey a lawful order of a police officer (a misdemeanor charge was later dropped), suspended four games by the NFL for violating the policy on performance-enhancing drugs (which he attributed to taking the wrong pre-workout supplement) and disciplined again by the league for this latest incident.
“I take full responsibility for my past conduct," Smith said in a statement. "Moving forward, I will work with the NFL and the Ravens to ensure that what happened in the past will never happen again. I will take all necessary steps to be a positive role model for both my sons, for the NFL and for the entire Ravens community.”
If Smith doesn't, the Ravens will have themselves to blame.