Disgraced running back Ray Rice will be disappearing from the virtual gridiron too. EA has confirmed that they're removing Rice from Madden NFL 15 following his suspension by the NFL.
USA TODAY's Brett Molina confirmed with EA that Rice will be removed from the game in a matter of days:
Ray Rice was charged with aggravated assault in March after striking his now-wife Janay at an Atlantic City casino. A surveillance video from the casino's lobby showed him dragging her unconscious body out of an elevator.
He was already serving a two-game suspension when a second video was released yesterday. This new footage, from inside the elevator, showed him knocking her unconscious. Soon after this video was released, the Baltimore Ravens cut him from their roster. The NFL then suspended him indefinitely.
Rice's removal from Madden NFL 15 isn't EA's way of punishing him further. They regularly update rosters within each Madden game to ensure that they're as accurate as possible. Players are added or removed on a weekly basis due to injury, cuts, and so on.
Typically players that have been released or suspended are simply listed as free agents in Madden. This allows the player to still use the player by editing the game's rosters manually. According to FOX Sports 1's Mike Garafolo, though, Rice will be removed from the game altogether.
It's not a stretch for EA to assume Rice won't be back in the NFL. If he entertains any notion of playing in the league again, he'll probably have to apply for reinstatement. That's far from a sure thing. The NFL would be under a lot of pressure not to let him back in. They were roundly criticized for only suspending him for two games. They've since announced harsher penalties for domestic violence. They may deny Rice the chance at a comeback to show that they're committed to cleaning up this kind of behavior.
I'm sure there are still people who will think EA's being harsh by deleting Ray Rice from Madden NFL 15. If the video of him knocking his fiancee unconscious didn't deter you from wanting to play him in a video game, you don't have anything to worry about, though. You could always just make a player named Ray Rice and put him on the Ravens. The easier, better solution would probably just be to get a new favorite running back, though.
Madden NFL 15 was released in the last week of August on Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3. Xbox One owners can get the full game as part of an EA Access subscription.
