Yes, he threw the ball and it hit the defender. It was a very weak toss. I don't think there was some sly attempt to punk the defender. He didn't square his shoulders or get in the face of the defender he bent over to retrieve the ball to get it to the ref. He didn't appear to want a confrontation.
Ever play darts? His throw looked like when you throw a dart. Your elbow doesn't move much kinda like a lever. Your forearm and wrist dictate the velocity and accuracy of the toss. He was accurate and had he got it over the defender's head it would have landed close to the referee as he had his hand in the air and was moving directly in line with the defender.
The love of the game doesn't have anything to do with it being "all good". The love of the game is the reason he plays it and after screwing up big time I believe he has been humbled big time. Why would he want to continue to destroy a tarnished image that he is trying to repair?
The implication that I was trying to convey is not about Rice but the ref's and their bias or scrutiny towards players that get labeled on the wrong side of the ledger.
So to boil this down if it was a different player you don't believe a penalty would have been called?
Correct! Had it been another Rice like Jerry or a Larry Fitzgerald I think the benefit of doubt regarding intent the flag would not have come out. Again, actions right after the ball hit the helmet indicate to me that he wasn't trying to hit the defender. The ref was on the other side of the incident. He saw the ball bounce down to the ground. None of us know what he heard or if he looked into the eyes of Rice and saw a "taunting expression".
The ref made the call. It is what it is. Let's see if he gets fined or contests his actions. There is a lot of egregious crap that goes on in the NFL that doesn't get called.