Free Republic

In a wide-ranging interview on the racial climate in America, Baltimore Ravens tight end Benjamin Watson brought up Planned Parenthood’s unscrupulous founding, saying the organization was created to “exterminate blacks.” Mr. Watson said black support for Planned Parenthood is “ironic,” given that the organization was founded by eugenicist Margaret Sanger in order to control “unfit” populations.

Via Twitter: "We need men to be men and lead, protect, and nurture their homes. The government is not daddy" #POTUStownhall

Football coaches face a tough choice anytime they’re asked to play politics: Do so, and they risk alienating their fan base for a reason other than play calling or defensive schemes. Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh took the plunge Saturday, when he agreed with Donald Trump’s idea to build a border fence to keep out illegal immigrants coming from Mexico. At an otherwise boring press conference Saturday afternoon, Harbaugh, who’s won a Super Bowl and is no stranger to dealing with media, was asked a question about officiating during the ongoing NFL preseason. Somehow, his answer drifted into politics, with...

After 12 weeks of the NFL season, the New England Patriots are still the heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl. Using Nate Silver's "2015 NFL Predictions," a model that rates each team and then projects how the regular season and playoffs will play out, we can get a better sense of which teams are the true Super Bowl contenders. Heading into Week 13, the New England Patriots are still the favorite with a 28% chance to win the Super Bowl, down from 33% a week ago. The Carolina Panthers (20%) are the favorite in the NFC. In fact, according...

Johnny Manziel lost his starting spot after cameras caught the quarterback partying during his bye week. Browns coach Mike Pettine called the behavior, which comes after an offseason trip to rehab, “disappointing” and “frustrating.” Manziel’s bye-week carousing spoils his national coming-out party previously scheduled for Monday night’s game against the banged-up Baltimore Ravens. Pettine announced on Tuesday Josh McCown will start the game at quarterback. TMZ spotted Manziel on Thursday at the RIO Rooftop & Restaurant nightclub in Austin, where he partied the evening away with friends. The Summit Rooftop Lounge, where he spent the evening boozing on champagne, served...

Molly Shattuck, the former Ravens cheerleader who was married to onetime Constellation Energy CEO Mayo A. Shattuck III, was arrested Wednesday and charged with third-degree rape and unlawful sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy, Delaware State Police said.

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader Molly Shattuck was sentenced Friday to two years of probation after pleading guilty to raping a 15-year-old boy at a vacation rental home in Delaware. The 48-year-old collapsed to her knees in the courtroom after she was sentenced and wept as she apologized. Shattuck, who received a suspended 15-year prison sentence, must report every other weekend to a probation center in Delaware, register as a sex offender and continue therapy. The teen's parents said Shattuck stole their son's innocence and urged the judge to send her to prison to send a message to...

John Urschel plays football for the Baltimore Ravens. He's also a published mathematician. How does he stack up against the average millennial?

Jameis Winston wasn’t the only controversial football player to skip the 2015 NFL Draft in Chicago. Ray Lewis stayed home, too—in Baltimore.

April 10, 2015 Polamalu retires from football Jim Wexall Troy Polamalu called Dan Rooney last night to inform him he was retiring from football. The Steelers had asked Polamalu to retire in February, but he resisted until the realization came upon him in church this week, the Holy Week of the Greek Orthodox Church. “It’s all about family,” said Polamalu in a phone interview. “I live here in Pittsburgh now, and since the end of the season I’ve had a chance to enjoy my family on a level I never had before. It was awesome.” Polamalu retires after 12 seasons,...

John Urschel is an offensive lineman for the NFL Baltimore Ravens whose Twitter handle is @MathMeetsFball. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in math, both with a 4.0 grade-point average. ... We should note, this isn't Urschel's first published math paper. He's also an avid chess player and hopes to be titled.

Out-of-work running back Ray Rice has issued a statement thanking the Baltimore Ravens and apologizing for his actions in a February 2014 elevator incident with his now-wife that struck a serious chord with the nation a year ago. Rice's high-profile case was the signature incident of a horrific domestic-violence swell among NFL players last season, and it raised awareness of what appeared to be a growing problem in the league. For his part, Rice apologized for his actions and thanked the city of Baltimore and the team, which released him last season once the full tape of Rice hitting his...

A Baltimore County grand jury indicted Terrence Cody on animal cruelty charges on the same day the Ravens officially terminated the contract of the veteran defensive lineman.. Cody, who faces 15 counts, including two felony charges, turned himself in after a warrant was issued. He was processed at Precinct 3 and released on $10,000 bail, according to Baltimore County police. His arraignment hadn’t been scheduled as of late Monday afternoon.

Patriots defenders constantly make the point that deflated balls were not a big deal last Sunday, because the Pats won so convincingly over Indy. Maybe. But what about the Ravens game a week earlier? That one WAS close - 35-31. Does anyone really think the Pats weren't pulling their under-inflation tricks then, that it just started last week? Other teams raised the issue back in November, so it's reasonable to assume it's been going on since at least then.

The divisional playoff game between the Patriots and Ravens on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium featured a number of bizarre and unbelievable twists and turns. Among them was a rarely seen strategy employed by Tom Brady’s offense, one that helped the Patriots climb back to cut a 14-point deficit in half, and one that had Ravens head coach John Harbaugh furious on the sideline. The strategy in question involved Bill Belichick’s offense employing four offensive linemen instead of the standard five on a number of plays midway through the third quarter. Running back Shane Vereen lined up off the right...

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has won the appeal of his indefinite suspension against the NFL and is eligible to return immediately, according to people familiar with the matter. Rice, who was indefinitely suspended in September after new evidence emerged in his domestic-violence case, can sign with a team immediately, though it isn’t clear if a team will do so with just a month left in the season. Rice was cut by the Ravens in September. The appeal was heard by Barbara Jones, a former U.S. District Court judge.

The inappropriate sexual relationship between Molly Shattuck, the 47-year-old former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader, and a 15-year-old boy which has lead to the mother-of-three being charged with third-degree rape was instigated by her own son, police have revealed. According to Delaware State Police, it was one of Shattuck’s own children who urged the unnamed victim to text his mom because ‘she is obsessed with you’ after spotting photos of the teen on Instagram.

The Ravens and the NFL were reeling Friday night from an explosive report stating the team conducted a wide-ranging cover-up of Ray Rice's elevator assault almost immediately after it happened in February.

Starting off with the Ray Rice elevator knock-out incident.After the abuse Janay went through,you would assume she would of filed for divorce.But obviously we all know why she wont leave him.Janay probably has no real skills/talent where she could just walk away and move on with her life.Just like with Elin Woods and Huma Weiner.Three completely different scenarios,but in the end they all stayed with their scandalous husbands.My Man Could Of Killed Me In The Elevator!,but that's OK,he has a lot of money,therefore he gets a pass,I forgive him.No Big Deal.And another perfect example of a high profile woman not...

What is happening to us, and what can we do about it? Confronting violence starts with confronting our anxiety about it.I know, the world is a violent place. But doesn’t this summer, and the last few weeks, seem especially so? From the global scene to the most personal, we seem to have settled for violence as the “new normal” at every level. This week, we observed the 13th anniversary of 9/11. That terrible day affected all of us, each of us being able to describe where we were and what we felt as the Trade Center towers fell. Yet, 13...